Panskura derails LF, puts Mamata back on track

Mamata, who arrived in Calcutta this evening after almost a week of campaigning in Panskura in Midnapore district, was quick to reiterate her larger objective: “The results show we are set to enter the corridors of power in Writers Buildings after the 2001 Assembly polls in the state. The people are simply fed up with the Left Front misrule,” she said.

The CPI candidate, Gurudas Dasgupta, who had his maiden run in an electoral battle in Panskura, was defeated by former bureaucrat and Trinamool Congress nominee Bikram Sarkar by a margin of over 41,000 votes. But the outcome is actually more a loss of face for the CPI(M) whose myth of invincibility has been exploded. “It is more a loss of face for the CPI(M) because they had taken up the challenge in Panskura on behalf of the CPI and turned this bypoll into a prestige issue,” said a senior leader of the Left Front.

The seat had fallen vacant after the death of Geeta Mukherjee, the veteran CPI leader. The byelection was held on June 5, amidst unprecedented security measures. Over 30 people were killed in clashes between the Trinamool Congress and the CPI(M) in the run-up to the poll.

A subdued West Bengal Chief Minister reacted to the defeat by saying: “The people in Panskura have made a mistake by defeating us.” But CPI(M) state secretary and politburo member Anil Biswas was more candid: “There must have been shortfalls at the organisational and campaign levels. We will conduct an inquiry into these aspects,” said Biswas. Dasgupta has blamed the defeat on “rigging”.

Mamata appeared unusually restrained today though the victory has once again revived her fortunes in public perception after she seemed to be losing ground following the recent elections to 79 municipalities. The Congress had sprung quite a few surprises, winning more boards than the Trinamool Congress.

But in Panskura, the Congress has been virtually decimated as its candidate, Subhankar Sarkar, a leader of the student wing, forfeited his deposit. Sarkar managed to pull in just about 20,000 votes which constitute about 2.23 per cent of the total votes polled.

The two assembly segments of Keshpur and Pingla worked wonders for the Trinamool Congress. While Keshpur, the scene of daily clashes between the CPI(M) and the TMC, gave a lead of about 18,000 to Bikram Sarkar, Pingla widened the gap further. This segment gave a virtually unbeatable margin of over 30,000 votes to the TMC candidate.

The TMC managed to make inroads also in the Congress stronghold of Sabong. In the 1999 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress candidate had bagged over 33,000 votes here; today it had dwindled to a little over 6,000. It was clear that the Congress voters in Sabong voted for the TMC.

“The people in Panskura have given a clear verdict against the Left misrule,” said Mamata Banerjee. “This is the beginning of the end of the Marxists in Bengal,” she added.

Soon after the result was announced, violence broke out in different parts of Midnapore district. Trinamool Congress and CPI(M) activists were locked in a series of clashes at Dhalhara and Jamtala in the trouble-torn Keshpur area. Buses stopped plying in the area.