Why Bengal doesn’t need a political slugfest right now

As West Bengal battles the double blow of the pandemic and aftermath of Amphan, the last thing it needs is complications arising out of political bickering

The political skirmishes between West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, taking place over the past few months, reached farcical proportions recently. Burdwan University was entrusted with two pro-Vice Chancellors in what appeared to be a battle of wills between the Raj Bhavan and the Nabanna, the state secretariat.

Although the matter seems to have been sorted for now with the governor stepping back from the brink, but the situation is hardly likely to resolve itself anytime soon. This is where the tragedy of the situation lies: As West Bengal battles the double blow of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Amphan cyclone that devastated the state, the last thing it needs is complications arising out of political bickering between different arms of the State.

A counterproductive political situation

To understand the reason for the current political situation, it may be useful to recap its background. The clashes have erupted ever since Dhankhar assumed his position in July 2019. The ruling Trinamool Congress government has often deemed Dhankhar a ‘BJP man’ in a nominated post since then and the Governor has regarded the government’s attacks as merely a tactic to hide its own administrative failures. The BJP has, meanwhile, taken a convenient side-seat in the melee, defending the governor’s actions as necessary to defend the sanctity of the Constitution. The BJP and the TMC remain locked in a race to win the 2021 Assembly polls in the state.

Therefore while from a purely political standpoint, this is a story that is playing out on expected lines, in the larger context, what is essentially transpiring is a political game that is completely counterproductive to the situation on the ground in Bengal.

The state, on June 2, registered the highest single-day spike in COVID-19 cases, with 396 new cases taking the total number to 5,772. The recent lockdown 5.0 announcements came with a set of relaxations to open a bottled up economy grasping for breath, but with the steady stream of returning migrants and the daily addition of cases unlikely to dip soon, the state is confronted with an immense challenge to conjure up an effective exit-route out of the lockdown.

The trail of destruction brought about by Amphan has only exacerbated the state’s headaches. Kolkata is gradually getting back on its feet after days of power and network outages, but its architectural and ecological assets need a well-planned restoration effort.

The situation is worse in the rural interior, as large tracts of South Bengal struggle to recover from damaged agricultural lands and settlements. Several reports have emerged of agricultural lands inundated due to broken embankments near the Sundarbans and elsewhere. The state government has proactively announced financial tranches for relief and rehabilitation, but the damage, which Mamata Banerjee deemed greater than that due to the pandemic, could take years to scrape off.

The third problem that could arise from the above two is a financial paucity in the near future. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced relief of ₹1000 crore immediately after he surveyed the state in the aftermath of the cyclone, and several organisations and banks have committed large sums to the state’s relief fund. But with the health sector expected to need sizable financial support until the crisis eases, the cash-strapped state might soon face a tricky situation with regard to fund disbursement.

Lack of trust

The final problem is more of a psychological problem that has been slowly but gradually permeating: A complete distrust of the populace in the administrative system. The misgivings first arose in April 2020 when the Centre and the State clashed over the number of COVID-19 cases and a central team flew down to Kolkata much to the chagrin of the state government.

A lack of transparency left the common man in the lurch as to the extent of the health crisis in the state. The problem was amplified when, right after the cyclone, the city embraced its oft-quoted ‘andolon’ appetite and took to the streets to vociferously raise its grievances against political inaction.

What all stakeholders in the state’s political hemisphere need to understand is that this is possibly the worst crisis that West Bengal has faced since the anguish of partition, the pangs of which are still felt with a sickening lurch. The economic hit from the pandemic lockdown has fatally harmed the urban buzz and the business dreams of the near future, while the damage from the cyclone is a knockout punch to the state’s major production centres and supply lines.

The effects have already begun to show in the prices of vegetables and food grains due to hampered supply. The economically disadvantaged, largely rendered without a living and a home, suffer the dual entrapment of the virus and inescapable starvation.

Need for political coordination

What is needed today is dedicated political drive. Political bickering is an unnecessary fallout of a multi-party democracy, more so after placing the nearby elections in context. But those at the top have to understand that if there is a time which requires political coordination, it is now. Disagreements and disputes over crucial issues will only cause delays that will aggravate the problems mentioned above. The government, the opposition and the governor need to keep their disagreements aside and build a much more conducive and united environment to tackle the graver challenges that lie ahead.

(Debdut Mukherjee is a student at the Indian Institute of Management, Indore)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.