JOIN USMamata-Suvendu meeting: Uneasy times for Trinamool
More than two weeks after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Leader of Opposition from the BJP, Suvendu Adhikari, had a formal tete-a-tete inside her chambers at the state Assembly, the dust has refused to settle in Kolkata over the cause and the effect. While the effect is visible at various levels, the cause is still carefully wrapped.
What prompted Banerjee to suddenly call Adhikari to her chambers in the Assembly is still unknown. What is clear is that whatever Banerjee had in mind to convey to the younger leader has stayed with her. To pre-empt any attacks from within his party, Adhikari took permission to bring three other MLAs with him, which still wasn't enough to stop his detractors in the BJP. The meeting lasted barely three to four minutes, not even enough to finish a cup of tea.
For over a month, what sounds like a prophecy has been going around, warning the government, run by the Trinamool Congress, piquing the curiosity of the people. Here cometh December. Three days of the month are behind us, and 28 more to go. That could often be a lifetime in politics.
Unlike the three witches, none of those making the prophecy has thrown any hint about what's coming up in the last month of 2022, either in public or private. Is the event coming next week or under the coming soon category?
The curiosity about the unforeseeable future possibly prompted Banerjee to get the Assembly staff to ring the Leader of Opposition's office in the same building.
Since Banerjee was sworn in for the third time in the summer of 2021, there were at least three occasions when the two top leaders in the state could have appeared together. Both chose to avoid such a happenstance.
On the floor of the Assembly, too, Banerjee has kept her gaze firmly fixed on some sheets of paper she held to avoid any eye contact with the man who defeated her in Nandigram. Except for an odd or two exchange of greetings, the two have been mostly busy firing salvos at each other.
These are not easy times for the Trinamool Congress.
There are reasons for Banerjee to be apprehensive. While the BJP's methods of coercion via the central probe agencies, especially in opposition-ruled states, raises questions, the fact remains that intimidation and extortion by the ruling party thugs masquerading as leaders from even at the lowest levels of governance is a part of everyday life in Bengal.
Last week, at the prodding of the Calcutta High Court, the School Service Commission had to publish the names of 183 candidates who had failed the eligibility test. The actual number of such teachers could be five times higher. The test was held more than six years ago, prompting a section of those who could not get appointments to hit the streets and go on hunger strikes. The legal proceedings and the subsequent investigation by the CBI have only partially revealed the rot set in the state's school education system.
A number of senior leaders have expressed their disenchantment with the goings-on in the party since Banerjee's nephew and heir apparent, Abhishek Banerjee, was appointed all-India general secretary. Some of them met the party supremo in the last few weeks to express their desire to quit politics.
While her grip on the imagination of Bengal's masses is still going strong, the same cannot be said about her control of the party. The day-to-day functioning is mostly left to Abhishek Banerjee, whose office at Camac Street in the heart of Kolkata has turned into another power centre in the state.
Banerjee entered the last month of 2022 carrying the leftovers from the previous months. The soothsayer she had sought to clear the air left without dropping a hint. Adhikari claimed on Saturday in a public meeting that Banerjee wanted to reach an understanding. Like it is her wont, Banerjee has yet to utter a word. She has her eyes fixed on the Centre, watching for the next move.
Whether it would be aimed at the government or any individual will be revealed after the fateful day, which has not been announced, passes, when it is all before our eyes. Till then, we can ask if three minutes are enough to savour a cup of tea.
(The writer is a Kolkata-based journalist)
(Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.)