Rightsizing the Left

If anything that explains the victory of TMC under the firebrand leadership of Mamata Banarjee in the assembly elections of West Bengal, in a more concrete term, is an unambiguous verdict of people in a democratic system. After 34 years of uninterrupted autocratic ruling, the Left has reduced to ashes and certainly the time has come for the CPI(M) leaders to introspect and unlearn the meaningless ideologies that they emotionally carry in their heart and soul for many decades. A pertinent question that strikes my mind now is whether the same Marx who authoritatively propounded the significance of communism some centuries before during a nascent stage of industrial revolution could have vouched for that ideology in today's world? Probably, it could have been enormously difficult even for him to understand the complexities of socio-economic dynamics that the world has experienced today, forget about his followers who even don't know the world around them thoroughly.

The Left's debacle in West Bengal is justified and timely. Justified because the CPI(M) took it for granted that anything and everything they do would be blindly accepted by the people of West Bengal forgetting a simple fact that they are part of a democratic system, not a communist country like China where the state terror is even justified. Timely because if the Left could have ruled the state at least for another term, the total debt might have crossed Rs. 200,000 crores, which is the rarest of rare incidents, given the fiscal situation of any other state in India. Though the people of West Bengal don't know today as how would Mamata Banarjee manage the gross fiscal violations incurred due to the bad governance of Left parties for over three decades, but at least one thought that they closely nurture in their heart is that something new and fresh would come out from Mamata's magic wand. And that's evident from Mamata's public speech post elections. At least she would concentrate on expanding the private-public participation in faster industrial revolution that was once a hallmark of West Bengal even during the pre-independent period. Though some ghosts of the past incidents like Singur and Nandigram would create some uncomfortable situations for her; however, she can ably turn her critics silent by helping the Land Acquisition bill passed in the Parliament in the monsoon session.

The people of West Bengal can now get some respite from the frequented strikes called by the Left on every alternate day for anything and everything. The Left must now understand that time has changed. Bullying labour-class people is quite easier, but the same people have already witnessed the transformation around them, so it would surely be difficult to indoctrinate them with false ideologies those have no sense in the current socio-economic condition. What people need today is result-oriented governance which can be physically visible and experienced, not the one they would romanticize for decades without an iota of outcome.