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For Bengalis, Mamata is Mercury

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's resignation from the Centre's co-ordination committee has considerably enhanced her image, especially among the voters of West Bengal.

While the Opposition consoled itself with vocal protests to price-rise, the Trinamul Congress went a step ahead and delivered a rude shock to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Banerjee's resignation ended the speculation that she was play-acting and drove home the point that she and her party could not be taken for granted.

Shiromani Akali Dal chief and Union minister Singh Barnala's statement that Banerjee's quitting did not threaten the government proved that Vajpayee and his Cabinet did sit up. Since the Trinamul Congress has seven Lok Sabha MPs, the resignation underscores that Vajpayee has been forced to listen to her entreaties about spiralling prices.

Considering that the party's main thrust is to fight the Marxist government in West Bengal, headed by Jyoti Basu, the resignation has buttressed Banerjee's image among the voters. Even people who have been voting for the Left cannot but take note of her crusade. It is a measure of her perseverance and dedication that her former colleague in the Congress, Ajit Panja, now plays 'second fiddle' to her.

Significantly, the Left leaders are seeking to ignore Banerjee's prominence. Communist Party of India-Marxist Lok Sabha member Hanuman Mollah contended that the Trinamul Congress chief 'specialised' in political gimmickry.

"Mamata can resort to all kinds of charades but her influence in West Bengal is severely limited. The people have favoured the CPI-M for over two decades," Mollah said.

However, the Left is quite aware that Banerjee's crusade against prices also takes on its government, which has not been able to do anything about the situation.

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