JOIN USRelentless waves of support for Mamata broke down every wall and eroded every barrier that seemed impregnable till the other day. If the outcome of the poll was brutal for CPM, her principal foe, it also cruelly demolished all vanities of alliance partner Congress. The Communists survived the fall of the Berlin Wall and collapse of the Soviet Union, but the war that began in the green fields of Singur and travelled through bloodied Nandigram hamlets, finally ended in a landslide and truly historic victory of Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee.
“This is the victory of people, of Ma, Mati and Manush [Mother, Soil and People],” said Banerjee, reiterating her favourite slogan, after the victory
paved the way for her becoming the next chief minister of West Bengal. Wild jubilations by Trinamool Congress supporters swept the state as people blew conch shells and played with green (the colour of Trinamool) “abir” and thronged the Kalighat residence of Mamata Banerjee. A dejected Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee drove to Raj Bhavan around 1 pm and submitted his resignation to the governor, reports
said.
According to the latest trends, the Trinamool Congress- Congress alliance romped home in 228 out of 294 seats up for the grab while the CPM-led Left Front was left licking its wounds with 61 and others 5. Set to become the next chief minister, Mamata Banerjee on Friday said the state finally got freedom from communist rule. “After 35 years people got freedom in West Bengal. All of you remain quiet, be calm. We will maintain peace,” Banerjee told her supporters and the people while addressing a huge gathering in front of her south Kolkata residence here.
“This is the year of 150 years of Tagore’s birthday. Let us dedicate it to Tagore and Nazrul. I dedicate this victory to people. We will provide good
governance. We will establish democracy. Sare Jahan Se Accha, Hindustan Hamara,” she said.
She said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi had already congratulated her on her victory. “I got a message from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. I thank them,” Banerjee said, adding that Bangladesh Pri me Minister Sheikh Hasina also congratulated her. “ Let us remember the martyrs of three decades of struggle, we salute them. Let us remember the poor. We thank all the people with humility. This joy will bring happiness in Bengal.”
The Mamata juggernaut saw top CPM and Left coalition ministers biting the dust. Prominent among them included Chief Minister Buddhadeb
Bhattacharjee, Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta, Industry Minister Nirupam Sen, Housing Minister Goutam Deb, Urban Affairs Minister Ashok Bhattacharya, Transport Minister Ranjit Kundu, PWD Minister (RSP) Kshiti Goswami, Fisheries Minister Kiranmoy Nanda, Forward Bloc Minister Pratim Chatterjee, IT Minister Anadi Sahoo, Prisons Minister (RSP) Biswanath Choudhury, Information Minister Debesh Das, Higher Education Minister Sudarshan Roychoudhury and Sports Minister Kanti Ganguly.
Some of those who resisted the Mamata storm were Health Minister Suryakanta Mishra, Panchayat Minister Anisur Rahman and Land Reforms
Minister Abdur Rezzak Mollah. Housing Minister Gautam Deb who was trounced by dramatist-turned-politician Bratya Basu of Trinamool, welcomed party supremo Mamata Banerjee as the next chief minister of West Bengal. Reacting to the Left Front’s defeat in the Assembly polls, Deb said: “This vote was not against the negative performance of Left Front, but a positive endorsement of a new government under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee. Hope she lives up to her image.” “We have failed to win confidence of our people. May be, they thought we are indifferent towards them. We didn’t correct our mistakes as per their expectations,” the CPM leader said.
Taking a reverse turn on the CPM stand on Singur, Deb conceded: “Now it’s proven that she was right and we were wrong. We should have left 400 acres land, factory or no factory,” said Deb.
Mishra, Panchayat Minister Anisur Rahman and Land Reforms Minister Abdur Rezzak Mollah. Housing Minister Gautam Deb who was trounced by dramatist-turned-politician Bratya Basu of Trinamool, welcomed party supremo Mamata Banerjee as the next chief minister of West Bengal. Reacting to the Left Front’s defeat in the Assembly polls, Deb said: “This vote was not against the negative performance of Left Front, but a positive endorsement of a new government under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee. Hope she lives up to her image.” “We have failed to win
confidence of our people. May be, they thought we are indifferent towards them. We didn’t correct our mistakes as per their expectations,” the CPM leader said. Taking a reverse turn on the CPM stand on Singur, Deb conceded: “Now it’s proven that she was right and we were wrong. We should have left 400 acres land, factory or no factory,” said Deb.