Murder she said

The panchayat elections have been scheduled for early July,after a tussle between Banerjees government and the State Election Commission SEC over dates and the number of poll phases. Even now,the question of security during the elections remains fraught,with the SEC having filed an application in the Kolkata High Court,seeking adequate arrangements. An increasingly nervous TMC had appeared keen to postpone an electoral contest. Already waning in popularity,the state government was shaken by the recent chit fund scam. Meanwhile,the CPM,thrown into disarray after the debacle of the 2011 assembly polls,has been hard at work,mending the breaches,reorganising itself. Now,the Kamduni rape and murder has triggered a fresh wave of protests in Kolkata,with the Park Street rape victim identifying herself and joining rallies.

Under siege,Banerjee seems to have withdrawn into her old politics of victimisation,a legacy of her days in the opposition. Except,the rhetoric of an opposition leader battling an entrenched regime does not suit a chief minister who came to power with an overwhelming mandate. A new tide of dissent could be rising in the state. It calls for a skilful and sensitive response. Tirades and conspiracy theories would only paint the chief minister as paranoid and inept.