With the first phase of assembly elections under way in West Bengal, Communist Party of India-Marxist's new state secretary Biman Bose is confident of a landslide victory.
Bose is known for speaking his mind. His outspokenness has landed him in controversy many times. On March 31 last year, Bose was accused of contempt of court by a division bench of the Kolkata High Court for his allegedly derogatory observations against high court judge Amitava Lala. The latter had passed an order in 2003 banning public rallies in Kolkata between 8 am and 8 pm on weekdays.
Complete coverage: West Bengal assembly elections
Having stepped into late Anil Biswas' shoes recently, Bose spoke to rediff.com's Indrani Roy Mitra over telephone from Kolkata. True to form, he did not mince his words, nor did he spare his opponents and the Election Commission.
What, in your opinion, is the biggest issue in the assembly elections in West Bengal?
The single biggest issue for the CPI-M will be to change West Bengal's economic stature -- agricultural and industrial. We want to build on development, which has already taken place and move on to industrialisation.
Infrastructure development has already started. And the growing purchasing capacity of rural Bengal has opened new vistas. Industrial products being used by the rural population now is phenomenal.
During Congress rule in 1975-76, industrial products sold in West Bengal amounted to Rs 3,000 to Rs 3,500 crores. Now it is Rs 17,000 crores.
Industrial houses which will be set up in the state will cater to not only the population in Bengal but to consumers of other eastern and north-eastern states. This is going to be CPI-M's main plank this election. And so far, we have received tremendous response from the people.
To what would you attribute 29 years of Communist rule in West Bengal?
West Bengal is ruled by the Left Front government not the CPI-M alone. Nine parties make up the Left Front and a majority of them share the CPI-M's ideological stand.
The Left Front is known for its pro-people policies which include education for the have-nots. The Left Front rule has seen the rise of first generation and second generation of students who have now progressed to colleges and universities. We have been successful in developing human resources. The number of primary students has gone up remarkably.
During the last year of the Congress regime, the number of registered primary students stood at 58.83 lakhs. In 2004, it went up to 1.11 crore. The rate of school dropouts used to be very high during the Congress regime. The Left Front has managed to retain these students through an effective system of mid-day meals in schools.
You recently said that Election Commission officials will come, observe, eat, and go away. What did you mean by that?
I have been misunderstood on this. What I meant was that the election personnel will come to conduct poll in a free and fair way. But that does not mean they will determine the fate of West Bengal. For, they are not the electorate. It is the electorate who will decide. In this respect, I had said, 'Election observers will come, conduct the election, eat and go away.' My words are to be deciphered in totality and not as an isolated comment.
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There will be five-phase elections in Bengal. That's one more than even Bihar. Why do you think it happened?
The Left Front had said that we accept the Election Commission's decision. But this step is unwarranted, unprecedented and unnecessary. Since 1952, India had had three four-phase of elections - once in Jammu and Kashmir because of inclement weather and once in Punjab because of the outbreak of violence. Recently Bihar witnessed four-phase election. In West Bengal, 13 Lok Sabha elections have taken place so far and we have had two-phase elections thrice -- in 1972, in 1977 and in 1996.
This five-phase election is playing havoc on the state's education. Academic sessions are going haywire as a result of which students of West Bengal are being denied the chance of appearing for entrance examinations to reputed academic institutions.
The Rabindra Bharati University in North Kolkata has been taken over by election personnel for a month. Also many rural schools are being taken up to act us makeshift abodes for election personnel. The annual examinations, as a result, have been postponed thus throwing the state's education schedule out of the window.
We have been hearing a lot about Buddhadev Bhattacharya (West Bengal chief minister) and his new brand of Communism. Is the party united on that? Has the CPI-M reconciled to foreign investment?
One needs to have a detailed discussion on this. This is not a topic to talk about over phone. In West Bengal, we are not accepting all conditions for direct investments in the state. Chandrababu Naidu as the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh accepted many conditions while going in for foreign investment. But our party is unanimous in not bowing down to such conditions. A decision to this effect has been taken by the party congress.
How will Anil Biswas' untimely death affect the party?
Anil Biswas left us with the campaign in full swing. He was so active, handling so many responsibilities. Therefore, his demise is creating some problems in the party. His absence has caused an irreplaceable vacuum.
You are allies with the Congress at the Centre and fighting them at home. How do you justify this to the voters?
We are not allies with the Congress. We are supporting the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance at the Centre from outside after accepting the Common Minimum Programme. We do not hesitate to raise our voice whenever the government violates the CMP whether in Parliament or elsewhere. If you remember, the CPI-M called for an all-India bandh on September 29 to demand a reversal of the UPA government's pro-privatisation and anti-labour policies. How can we be allies to the Congress when we are protesting against its policies so vehemently at times?
Last time, the Trinamool Congress, led by Mamata Banerjee, won 60 seats. How many do you think they will win this time?
This is definitely not the appropriate time to give you figures. The Trinamool Congress, according to me, is not a party yet. For a political party must have chiselled policies, principles and ideologies. The TMC has none. Which is why it is sometimes tying up with the Congress, sometimes with the BJP and sometimes even fighting independently. It fails to justify its stand. This time, the TMC is saying that the EC is with them. It is ridiculous. How can the EC align with a political party?
There is this perception that the Communists win elections through a mix of using the state machinery and organised rigging. Your reaction?
As I told you, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee has said that the EC is with her party. Yet we feel we will have a landslide victory this time as well. How will you explain that?
How grave is the Maoist threat to this election?
I visited Bankura recently where one of our comrades Gotilal Tudu was murdered. Yet I am sure people of Bankura will not shy away from exercising their rights and will help the Left Front win.
Rabindranath Kaur, an important member of our party and the Zilla Parishad chairman in Bandowan, Purulia, was killed and his house set on fire. Yet I know Bandowan will be won by the CPI-M. All the tribal seats will be ours. I often feel the issue of Maoist threat is blown out of proportion by the media.
The Maoists are telling the people not to vote for the CPI-M. The Trinamool is urging people to choose them for the sake of peace. Their argument is: if the people vote for CPI-M, it will unleash violence and chaos. It is a strange situation. In places reeling under the so-called Maoist-threat, you may often bump into cadres who claim to be Congress, BJP, Trinamool or Jharkhand Party loyalists by daylight and turn Maoists by night. It's an unexplainable state of affairs.
Photograph: Deshkalyan Chowdhury/AFP/Getty Images
