Mamata angling for Railway portfolio

Not only do some Railway projects constitute a key component of her Bengal package, she thinks the portfolio can give her substantial political advantage in West Bengal. So much so that yesterday, even after indicating her party’s decision to join the Cabinet, she told a rally in Jalpaiguri in North Bengal, that she would withdraw support if some railway projects in the area were not implemented.

In the past two general elections, she made a big issue of the proposal for extension of the Metro Railway from Tollygunge to Garia. The extension area falls within her South Calcutta Parliamentary constituency. Farther down south, there is her other pet project–the Lakshmikantapur-Namkhana extension of the Sealdah South section–which has been hanging fire for over a decade.

The north Bengal project over which Mamata issued yet another threat of withdrawing support from the Government, is the Eklakhi-Balurghat line which can connect large parts of South and West Dinajpur, which now do not have any railway links.

There are immense political advantages she can garner from these projects. The ruling Left Front has traditionally rallied local people against the Centre on the non-implementation of these projects. If she can give these people what neither successive Congress governments nor the Left agitations could give, she makes huge political capital in one stroke, in areas which are still overwhelmingly Left-dominated. Except Malda, the Left Front swept all Lok Sabha seats in north Bengal.

Malda, too, is of significance to her. It has the lone Congress MP from the State in veteran A B A Ghani Khan Choudhury. He has been seen as the architect of the Metro Railway in Calcutta and several other railway projects in the State during his tenure as Railway Minister in Indira Gandhi’s Cabinet. After B C Roy, Choudhury has the most formidable reputation of a Congress leader who has done “so much” for West Bengal. His popularity among Congressmen derives largely from the period when, as Railway Minister, he doled out jobs and contracts to thousands of partymen.

So Mamata, whose loyal partyworkers comprise hundreds of unemployed young men, wants to emulate Choudhury, and no other Ministry suits this ambition better than the Railways. With the headquarters of the Eastern Railway, South Eastern Railway and the Metro Railway in Calcutta, she will also have the advantage of home turf. The Coal Ministry was once considered as effective for patronage distribution. But with the Centre deciding to close down 64 mines of the Eastern Coalfields, coal is no longer black gold.

There is one problem, though. Even if the Trinamool gets one portfolio, it has to go to its seniormost leader Panja. Mamata may herself stay away from the Cabinet to retain her rebel image.