Not going to town

The attempts of West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya to set his state on the trajectory of high growth are being scuttled by his own party colleagues. A prestigious deal with the Salem Group from Indonesia to create a township in South 25-Parganas has run into trouble because of opposition to an amendment required in the Land Reforms Act in order to expedite it. The amendment would have allowed Bhattacharya to release 5,100 acres of land for the township. At present, the ceiling on land holdings does not permit this.

The CM finds himself in a spot. The Indonesian FDI was flagged as a big achievement in a state that faces a crucial election next year. Growth, today, translates into votes. The CM8217;s attempts to attract FDI, domestic investment and foreign aid, as well as to reform PSUs, are part of the attempt to get economic growth into West Bengal. The political dividends of the land reforms the state had embarked upon 30 years ago may soon prove insufficient to get CPM the popularity it needs to keep winning elections. Bhattacharya is also reported to be upset over party opposition to his proposed pension reforms. It is becoming increasingly difficult for the state, which today has the second largest pension burden after Maharashtra, to pay its pension bill. To tackle the problem, it needs to initiate pension reforms as soon as possible but, again, that agenda is facing a road block.

On the one hand, the CPM has to distinguish itself from the UPA and establish its Marxist credentials by opposing the free market and foreign investment. On the other, the West Bengal CPM has to give the people of the state reasons to believe that their future is in good hands. This cannot be done merely on the basis of Marxist ideology, since people today also aspire to a better life. The party in the state has been forced to be more pragmatic. The CPM8217;s national leaders, however, continue to play spoilers. They need to better understand the strategy the Communist Party of China embarked upon 8212; with such success.