Poll commissioner Mira Pande,quiet yet unyielding

Mira Pande was rarely heard during the confrontation with Mamata Banerjee. Yet she was the one who had her way,something

Mira Pande was rarely heard during the confrontation with Mamata Banerjee. Yet she was the one who had her way,something she has always been used to that,say former colleagues.

She is dealing with an obstinate government,yet manages to maintain her cool, says T K Sengupta,a former IAS officer and of the same batch,1974,as Pande,who is now West Bengals electon commissioner.

Until the confrontation over the panchayat poll schedule,few outside her own circles knew of Pande,who took over as state election commissioner in 2009 and who turns 64 this month. But those she has worked with say that beneath the soft-spoken nature lies an unyielding character.

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It is for her stubbornness that she was never made a district magistrate, says an officer who had worked with her in food and supplies. He says she would not spare junior officers for any mistake,however slight,nor would she agree to anything that meant bending any rule,even if it was an order from her seniors.

Her father was an army officer,which meant transfers across the country. Born on July 22,1949,she studied at Loreto House in Kolkata and then postgraduated in English from Jadavpur University. After becoming an IAS,she got an MSc in social planning from the London School of Economics. She lives at Sonarpur in South 24-Parganas. Her only son is studying IT in Bangalore.

Trinamool leaders say she is being backed by the CPM. Most of her career has been during Left Front rule. She was food commissioner and served as additional chief secretary,food and supplies. Other positions have included those of registrar for cooperative societies,chairperson of the West Bengal Small Industries Development Corporation,and additional chief secretary for cottage and small scale industries.

It is my strong conviction that the election commissioner is backing the opposition parties,which are misguiding the people with baseless allegations against us, says Mukul Roy,Trinamool general secretary.

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Mamata aides such as Madan Mitra and Suvendu Adhikari say Pande will have nowhere to hide once the people supporting her from behind the scenes are defeated. Mamata has said that if she had a two-third majority,she would have removed Pande. And during the legal battle with the government,advocate general Bimal Chatterjee said the poll panel was behaving like a beautiful lady throwing tantrums.

It sparked outrage among all opposition parties and legal experts,but Pande herself remained silent as ever.

She has asked district magistrates for CDs of the hate speeches made recently against her, says a colleague at the election commission. She has said she would consider if she should take any legal steps.