Left infighting gives Trinamool edge in Balurghat

Subhro Maitra TNN
Balurghat: Infighting in the ruling coalition threatens to give Trinamool Congress the edge for the Lok Sabha election in Balurghat. Left Front partners, CPM and RSP, here, have the least camaraderie, which has become a major source of concern for state-level Left leaders in Kolkata, about 450 kilometre south. RSP district secretary Prasanta Majumdar, who was hospitalised after being assaulted by CPM supporters at Tapan block of South Dinajpur, is now the Left Front candidate from Balurghat, to the utter chagrin of CPM supporters. The pre-election peace thus seems both fragile and ominous for the Left, especially at the grass roots. CPM’s Harilal Rabidas, a member of the Dipkhanda gram panchayat in Tapan, is categorical: “How can we accept an RSP candidate here? How can we forget the trouble he meted out to us?” He, along with Rejaul Sarkar and Nareya Burman, have chosen to be inactive during the polls. “We should vote for Trinamool to oust RSP forever,” said a young CPM worker, Madan Sarkar. But at the district level, it seems all hunky-dory. “This time, unity is at its best as we, the partners, are fighting the polls together,” said RSP leader Sucheta Biswas, also chairperson of Balurghat Municipality. If infighting in the Front makes Trinamool candidate Biplab Mitra optimistic, delimitation has raised his hopes further. The new-look Balurghat constituency lost Assembly segment Gajole to Malda North. It used to give the Left a massive lead of 30,000 votes. Instead, it has got Itahar, which voted for Congress in the last panchayat election. “Trinamool and Congress never fought together here. This time, the myth of the Left stronghold is sure to collapse here,” said Mitra. True to his claim, the Opposition vote, divided between Congress and Trinamool-BJP, was higher than that of RSP in 2004. South Dinajpur has seen peasant movements like Tebhaga land reformation since the Forties. The Left leadership doubts whether the land reform movement cut any ice with young voters. “Today’s generation does not know the Emergency or the land movement,” conceded Biswas. The condition of the marginal farmers, too, has worsened with ages. “The problem is there with the supporting price of crops or marketing,” said RSP leader Kali Kar. In fact, a vast dry stretch of land, thanks to severe water scarcity, amid otherwise green Balurghat goes against the Left’s success story in agriculture. The Opposition, incidentally, banks on development. The posters in support of Trinamool thank Mamata Banerjee for the long awaited railconnectivity to Balurghat. “Mamatadi, during her stint as railway minister, implemented the dream of Barkatda (ABA Ghani Khan Choudhury) of Eklakhi-Balurghat rail. Railway minister Lalu Prasad himself referred to that. What has our MP Ranen Burman done in 20 long years?” asked Mitra. If there is no strong protest on part of the ruling party on this, Majumder describes this railway service as a “mockery”. Only a single train runs to Kolkata and that too upto Kolkata station. This hardly benefits the people of Balurghat. In fact the deserted look of the station with no approach road, poor condition of the platform supports his view. Majumder sets his priority right — Teesta River Project, Railway service and rural electrification. Mitra, on the other hand, leaves no chance of taking a dig at RSP. Years back, Majumder fought a municipal election and lost in the Sixties. “Now at 69, he has been picked to fight the Lok Sabha election. Though it is a desperate attempt of the party to save its face, people cannot be fooled for long,” he claimed.