Essential Features of West Bengal Politics Since 1977. By: Anupam Gurung

An in-depth report on the features of Sub-State politics in the State of West Bengal from 1977 to 2010. HCL 1/8/2011

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Essential features of West Bengal Politics since 1977.

On June 21, 1977; the Left Front Government headed by Jyoti Basu

assumes power. The then Governor A.L. Dias administers Basu and his

ministerial colleagues the oath of office. The first decision from the

combined Let Front Cabinet comes for the release of all Political Prisoners

and on June 24, the first secession of the newly formed assembly starts

which continues till date. Political victory was achieved against the Congress

domination, but West Bengal which was also a “Revolutionary Bengal”

during the Pre-Independence era and not just a State but a Cultural Hub

with a vast, variant and fluctuating societal pattern was anything but a

challenge for the united Left Front to administer. Hence the party first had

to look into the matter of economic stagnation and hindrance of economic

growth which was the cause of rural poverty. They had to re-strengthen and

rejuvenate all the aspects of the productive forces at the rural level. The

second challenge was, democratizing the rural governing process which was

also at halt. The third task was to check the un-democratic functioning of

Bureaucracy at the Local level and also to limit the powers of Administrative

officers.

Regardless, the new Left Front government also had to face problems on the

matter of securing State funds unfortunately from the Congress which was

at the center as because the Congress ill-favored the Left front. Jyoti Basu

aptly termed this phenomenon as a ‘Step Motherly Treatment’ meted out

by the center to the state of West Bengal. The Left Front committee decides

upon initiating a nationwide debate on the Center-State Relationship and on

1st Dec, the Draft on the same subject gets accepted by the State cabinet

and seven days later, Jyoti Basu writes to the Chief Ministers of certain

States to consider-orientation of center-state relations. In these early years,

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there also came some amount of success in the form of positive changes.

The first was the successful implementation of Land Reforms (Operation

Barga) and the re-organization and re-vitalization of Local Self Governments.

Further on September 29, 1977; the West Bengal Land (Amendment Bill)

was passed in the Assembly. As a result, a healthy number of elected

representatives consisting of small/marginal peasants, adivasis, dalits

emerged as functional representatives to the revitalized three-tier

Panchayati Raj System in which women occupied 1/3rd seat. The success of

the Left Front in the land reform program and the institutionalization of the

Panchayati Raj System acted as a back bone for the rural base of the CPI (M)

and the Left Front. This whole initiative which was focused at the grass root

level was to achieve the goal of grass root level democracy, de-centralization

of power and to increase the participation of the people in governmental

affairs.

As a result of this, on June4, 1976; the Left Front Government secures a

healthy victory in the Panchayati elections and on july-4, the State cabinet

takes the decision of reducing the voting age in the municipal election from

21 years to 18 years. Regional autonomy movements were another problem

that was a priority for the party and namely the two, the Gorkhaland and

the Jharkhand movement in West Bengal. Early on July 2nd, 1977 the State

cabinet had taken a unanimous decision in favor of regional autonomy

status for Darjeeling within the Sate periphery, but in 1986, the “Gorkha

National Liberation Front” having failed to obtain a separate regional

administrative identity from parliament again demanded a separate state of

Gorkhaland. The movement became violent but was later settled with

negotiations and the Formation of “Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council”. But in

present times, whether, may be because of ill-development or other reasons

the movement has again arisen with the dissolution of DGHC and

abandonment of the Sixth Schedule. The Jharkhand movement on the other

hand capitalized itself on the grievances of the rural poor tribal’s (Santhals),

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oppression of Jotedars and the pauperization of the marginal’s, all made the

promise of a separate Jharkhand state attractive.

Agrarian/Industrial Politics: West Bengal is a middle-income state, ranked

ninth among 15 major states in terms of both per capita income and

consumption. In 2000/01, the per capita in West Bengal was 64% of that of

highest among major states. In 1990 till date the State Domestic Product has

also increased rapidly. This agrarian progress is because of the state

government’s flexible and active political efforts. On Sep 30th 1979, the West

Bengal Land Holding Revenue Bill was accepted in the West Bengal

Legislature. Another major supplement to this progress was the Land

reforms which took shape in the form of redistribution of vested lands and

securing of tendency rights through Operation Barga by the Left Front. This

was followed by mobilization of peasants associations like WBKS, Kanjukta

Kasan etc with the party to achieve effectiveness. Due to low State funds,

Industries were dying and solve this problem the parliament enacted the

“Sick Industrial Companies Provisions Act” in 1985.

Trade Unionism is another aspect of West Bengal politics. The CITU of CPI

(M) have been able to penetrate into industrial domain and there have been

remarkable shifts in the balance of power in industrial belts so far as trade

union politics are concerned.

On May 11th 2006, like always, the Left Front wins 235 seats in a 294

member House and the 7th Left Front Government is headed by Buddhadeb

Bhattacharjee. But from there on, the ever present glory of the Left Front

seems to be fading away as evident from the civil polls results; Battle for

Bengal (Total 81 seats) and the Left Front, 18 (-36) and Trinamool, 33 (+22)

and the Congress, 7. In the Battle for Kolkata (Total 141 seats) the Left

secured, 33 (-42) and Trinamool, 95 (+53) and Congress, 10 (-5). The party is

now faced with several major problems, The Recent Maoists Problems, the

cadre killings, the Nandigram incident, land acquisition issue, the

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Strengthening of the opposition (Trinamool Congress) and Congress.

Globalization may also be a key reason behind this ‘political weakening’

which is affecting the “Young Suffrage” who seem to favor a Media aided

High-end, capitalist-consumerism based livelihood over the old “through

revolution, First socialism then Communism” based Communist thought.

The West Bengal Assembly election is scheduled to be delivered on 2011.

However the Left front government is in power since 1977, but in recent

times they have lost mass support during Nandigram mass killing and Singur

disputes from 2007 onwards. The main opposition party, All India Trinamool

Congress and the Indian National Congress together got more than 50% in

all elections after2007. It seems that after 34years of unparalleled political

victory, there is a slight possibility that the Left Front Government may taste

their first defeat in the up-coming “Bidhan Sabha” elections.