As the state gears up for the Assembly elections, many things are at stake. Is the incumbent government going to avail a second term or the left is going to stage a comeback after allying with the oldest party of the country? The most aged party is recognized as an outfit responsible for our independence. The communists were their sworn enemies right from their inception in this country. There are reasons aplenty for this resentment.
Communists were left-leaning who advocated socialism, equal wealth share and many more ideologies penned down by Karl Marx, the German philosopher cum economist cum journalist. Marx’s main interests were in labour history, class struggle and natural sciences. He had backed the equivalent distribution system and despised the very existence of any God. His notable ideas include alienation and exploitation of the worker, the materialist conception of history and many more due to which the Marxists never actually gained popularity in this country of snake charmers who all belief in idol worship and hardly find any difference between religion and spirituality.
Now I am not going to opine on either religion or spirituality. It isn’t the core issue that bothers the general public at large. What matters is whether it will be a left rule that suits Bengal or Didi is going to have a cakewalk. Had there been no alliance between Congress and the left parties, then Mamta Banerjee led Trinamool Congress’s victory wouldn’t have raised even a ray of qualm in anyone’s mind. But with the grand pact, even the top brass TMC leaders are becoming irresolute as it might cost them the government.
Since my birth, I used to wonder as to why Bengal votes differently as the other states. Congress has ruled our country for more than half of a century but they could manage to govern the eastern state for only a quarter of a century. The leftists were extraneous to the government formation at the centre under all circumstances but they ruled us for thirty-nine years in total including the United Front government formed in 1967. BJP at present the largest party in the Lok Sabha hardly has a presence in this state, whereas they are ruling many of the leading states of the country along with their allies. No, I can’t consider BJP an anti-minority party as they are ruling four states with a minority population like Punjab, Kashmir, Goa and Arunachal Pradesh. Also, it can’t happen that the single largest party gets the support of maximum populace in a sovereign and pluralistic country by endorsing communalism.
The charismatic left leaders of the 80s and 90s have managed to convince the masses of the state that BJP is an anti-Muslim party with a hidden agenda of Hindutva. It was enough to scare a minority population of 27% not to vote for the party and the minority votes were shared by both the left and the Congress. Also, we were a culturally inclined and sophisticated breed of intellectuals, who abhorred any party that uses Hindu Gods like Ram, Durga, and Krishna at election rallies levelling them as rustic and uneducated. The same we never objected to any of these political outfits’ attempt to find solace in Muslim League and Jamaat who all pledge for the welfare of their community members but with vested interests of their cash-rich leaders to milk the nation and its resources. Yes, even the TMC leaders also aren’t mortified to share the dais with these elements. Many of these community leaders have dubious records of making anti-national statements but they got away scot-free as penalizing them could lead to a fall in the Muslim vote share.
anirbanobserves 