Trinamool damp squib

The poor performance of the Trinamool Congress in the recent elections to 12 municipalities in West Bengal shows that the party's downsli...

The poor performance of the Trinamool Congress in the recent elections to 12 municipalities in West Bengal shows that the party8217;s downslide has not yet been arrested. The results conform, by and large, to the trend witnessed in the panchayat elections held a couple of months ago when the chinks in its popular base were exposed. In retrospect, the Trinamool Congress8217; maiden performance in the Lok Sabha elections in the state was more a flash in the pan than a true reflection of the popular mood. Even so, it should be a matter of worry to party chief Mamata Banerjee why its popularity has been plummeting rather than soaring.

Though the division of the Congress votes helped the Left Front in many constituencies, her claim that Congressmen in the state had shifted their loyalty entirely to the Trinamool Congress has been proved wrong. The Congress has not withered away. It has stood its ground in most of its strongholds. Similarly, the BJP has also not done all that badly 8212; it has only strengthened itsposition in these municipalities. The party would have certainly done much better if its alliance partner had lived up to expectations. What, then, went wrong with the Trinamool Congress?

The party has proved its inability to do anything of consequence against the Left Front government during the four months that it has supported the BJP government. This would have disillusioned Mamata8217;s traditional voters who thought that a vote for Trinamool was a vote against the Jyoti Basu government. Her cohabitation with the BJP has also cost her some Muslim votes while her inability to work closely with the local leadership of the BJP showed the BJP-Trinamool alliance in a poor light. Small wonder that she suffered on both counts. It is, perhaps, in recognition of her constraints that she has invited state BJP leader Tapan Sikdar to share her platform on July 21 to commemorate the death of some Congressmen in police firing.

Obviously she now believes that the BJP can no longer be taken for granted. While this makessense, her recent espousal of the partisan cause for an end to the ban on the indiscriminate use of loudspeakers in places of worship does not jell with such a stance. As it is, the restriction was imposed by the Calcutta High Court and it has been welcomed by most people who do not see it as an infringement of any right, fundamental or otherwise. In fact, there is a case for extending such restrictions on the use of loudspeakers all over the country, at least in residential areas and near hospitals and schools.

While Banerjee8217;s desire to win back the sympathies of the Muslims can be appreciated, she needs to be cautioned against the dangers of fanning passions, particularly communal. West Bengal remains more or less riot-free, but it would still be dangerous to play with communal fire.

The municipal elections have once again proved that in the art of managing elections the Left Front has no real match. Every index suggests that its popularity has been on the wane, and yet it is able to retain its seatsin every election. Unless the Left Front is matched by a grand coalition of democratic forces, its supremacy will continue. Unfortunately, Banerjee has so many personal agendas that she has no time to think of such a coalition.