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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
Essential features of West Bengal Politics since 1977.

O n 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.

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