Mamata’s Immediate Challenges: Quick Demostration of Real and Impacting Change

People perceive change when such change perceptibly start affecting their lives and environment in regular intervals of short periods of successive six to eight months. If Mamata's call and promise for CHANGE in West Bengal has to become credible, She has to deliver in line with people's expectations of evidence of continuously yielding measruable, observable change results in the objective conditions. People would lose interest in CHANGE for which they have to wait for long.

Six months as Chief Minister is a short period to make a significant impact that the common citizens could feel for themselves. Mamata has 54 months more to last. But the strong Mamata wave in the minds of the electorate will not last more than another six to eight months unless Mamata’s actions make a perceptible impact on the lives of the people at large throughout the State and her party, now riding the Mamata wave is perceived as of much superior quality in terns of democratic culture, civilized values, honesty and integrity as compared to the CPM and her government is perceived as much more competent, non-corrupt, and result-yielding than the left government. At the same time, common people will soon try to see the impact of new government in stepping up private sector investments and employment creation while giving Mamata full five years’ time to rescue the State’s Finances from brinks of bankruptcy that the CPM govt. led the State to, and bring it back to long-term health.

Challenge#1: Prompt, Caring and Efficient Governance Delivery

Yes, Mamata has taken numerous steps to usher in a phase of all out economic development project initiatives together with specific programmes to deal with the problems of the hill and forest (jungle) areas as well as the problems of minority communities and backward groups in various regions. Yes, Mamata’s government and party have shown quicker reflexes in the face of natural disasters. She is seen to be quick in decision making, quick in correcting mistakes, quick in avoiding traps of controversy in low priority areas and quick in implementation follow-up. But, West Bengal government machinery has been extremely sloth (hoechey-hobay, cholchay-cholbay type) for long, probably since Independence and acquired the skills of non-performance and delay during the anti-work regime of 34 years under the so-called communists, dominated by older men and people more interested in acting as brokers, rather than as doers of hard, productive work for the State. This will be the biggest challenge to Mamata: the people expect Mamata to bring change in the delivery of Governance – fast, quick, prompt, caring. Are her bureaucracy and ministers and the police following her footsteps in radically raising the standard of delivery of Governance? This is critically important for Mamata. For each six month period, the common citizens must be able to feel an upward shift in the delivery of governance in terms promptness, quality and care as compared with the previous six month period.

Challenge #2: Much Superior Quality Political Party

A second challenge is to demonstrate on the ground that her party is fast cleansing itself from the usual pollution of the dominance of goons, hafta-collectors, murderers and corrupt party cadres and supporters at every level, particularly at the lower, small locality levels. In this area, it is not sufficient to say any more that her party has fewer armed goons and corrupt members and supporters than the CPM. Yes, the CPM’s goondaism, hooliganism, party-raj and corruption are well known and investigations and court cases will increasingly tarnish the image of the CPM’s image as a political party. But that will not improve the image of Mamata’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) Party significantly. The CPM is currently trying to strengthen its organization machinery and so is TMC. But these are geared to the objective of winning the next panchayat elections and Lok Sabha elections thereafter. CPM has a disadvantage of low morale among the cadres, loss of government power abuse opportunity and sudden distrust among the voters. But it will make the best efforts to come back to fight elections with a vibrant machinery sooner or later. The TMC however does not any advantage: it is weak as a party from the beginning and got the voters’ favour mainly because of its leader Mamata’s great energy to work, strong determination, struggle against oppression everywhere, her love for the people and her political strategies to exploit the fundamental weaknesses of the CPM. But that does not make TMC a party of quality that stands out above all other parties. Mamata has a great challenge to lift her Party to much higher plane than where the political parties in West Bengal lie. CPM will not ever go out to seek external assistance for upgrading the quality of its members: Mamata can choose to take the help of professional agencies and business schools to upgrade the quality of its members, cadres and ministers.

Challenge #3: Private Sector Investment and Employment Creation

Mamata has announced a large number of projects in the State that would be funded by the State Govt. Additionally, greater investments through projects largely funded by the Central Government is being arranged very systematically – an avenue largely ignored by the previous Govt. These investments together with large scale recruitment of teachers and policemen will increase employment. But this will take time and would not be enough. What would be needed is a significant step up in industrial investment activity and employment generation in the private sector within six months. The people would like to feel the vibrancy in small and medium scale private sector industrial projects. Single window clearance is a good initiative making the WBIDC responsible for coordinating speedy approval/ disapproval process in respect of the many State clearances that industrial projects need before they can start. But industrialists are not clear about getting lands soon. The land bank is not yet on the internet: nor is the State marketing large number of pieces of land of sizes between 50-100 acres to big industrial houses who may be willing to set up additional capacities in mid-sized factories for consumer goods manufacturing, agro-processing, milk processing, etc. Individual ministers and their secretaries need to be given the responsibility to move door to door of only the cash-rich industrialists’ offices to know their immediate requirement of lands and then after discussing within the Government go back to industrialists with alternative offers of lands. This is the only methods of enthusing industrial investment and can be done in a very transparent way to avoid getting trapped in corruption, discrimination and delays in effective utilization of land already available for speedy allocation to industrial use. Even if six months of hard work leads to two dozen factory investment proposals getting to reach first phase of implementation, the process may become self-sustaining and vibrant. This is what people expect the new Government to demonstrate within the next six months as a proof of CHANGE in West Bengal.

Time will soon tell if the Mamata Government is really set to meet the three immediate challenges to make its impact felt on the short-term aspirations of real CHANGE.

Mamata’s Leadership & Management Quality

Whimsical, Inconsistent Critique?

Mamata’s Chief Minister-ship in West Bengal just completed five months. Critics are finding it difficult to effectively raise any issue against her against her: their repeated attacks are getting drowned as the critics admit because of the continuing strong wave of popularity as a leader of masses. Now, the critics, essentially the leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxists) and their elite sympathizers, are shouting loud that Mamata is a whimsical leader without conviction. 

Campaigning with a slogan malign Mamata reflects a failure of Mamata bashers to understand the strengths of Mamata as a leader and her management style in relation to those of the previous Chief Ministers of West Bengal:

1. She as an extra-ordinary long-term social and economic vision for both West Bengal as a whole and the State’s various regions some leader as whimsical and inconsistent is generally the result of a combination of (a) the inability on the part of critics to really assess the strength/ qualities of the leader being attacked, (b) the frustration of the critics getting ridiculed in the eyes of followers as a result of the superior performance of the leader being criticised and (c) the inability of the critics to change themselves in an unfamiliar environment created by the leader being criticized. This is what is happening: many industrialists, small businessmen, trade union leaders/ activists, middlemen, teachers, administrators, lobbyists and work/ responsibility shirkers are still taking time to adjust to the changed environment. The opponents of round Mamata (both in the left and within the Congress) are scared by the all strong performance of Mamata in governance, economic, social, political and cultural affairs despite the various legacy constraints and challenges that her Government has to deal with.

 

Observed Attributes

It is better for the opponents to understand that Mamata’s numerous economic and social projects are just part of her long-term plan and vision for the State which she wants to uplift rapidly in all areas from education to health, employment generation to tourism, from distribution of food to elimination of corruption, from infrastructure to creation business-friendly, responsive administration, from generation of financial resources for the State to technology and its application , tourism to agriculture, and from reaching out to the unfortunate in time to effective disaster management.

2. She is undaunted by the alarming dimensions of the problems she has inherited from the past Government (e.g., poor State finances, lack of industrilisation, poor infrastructure, Maoist disturbance if the Jungle Mahal, agitations of the Gorkhas, the ineffectiveness of the Police, the sloth and government machinery, the huge stock of illegitimate arms with goons and mafias often connected to political parties or a sections of the police officials).

3. She herself works hard, often 24 x 7 in problem solving and implementation of policies and decisions through continuous monitoring and follow-up.

4. She seeks and finds expert advice/ assistance from experts from both within and outside the State.

5. She remains honest and constantly watches on her political and administrative teams to ensure that incidences of dishonesty and corruption are detected early ad nipped in the bud.

6. She leads from the front and works in a collegial spirit with all her teams.

7. She mentors, motivates, incentivises and strengthens her colleagues and officials at all levels, gives them adequate freedom, set targets for them to achieve, monitors their performance closely and intervenes to assist and reorganize so that schedules ad targets can be met.

8. She is transparent in the way she leas and directs as also provides regular feedback on what is happening to the people at large through the media.

9. She keeps regular touch with the common citizens in different parts of the country, party workers, govt. officials at various levels, industrialists, intelligentsia, various professional groups and national political leaders.

10. She is affectionate and kind hearted and yet firm on maintaining schedules, targets and commitments.

11. Unlike all past Chief Ministers of West Bengal, Mamata has created and set up a party of her own single-handed that struggled for more than a decade in the opposition before coming to power.

12. She had not only been in politics but also acquired two post graduate degrees, authored books and served three stints in the Govt/ of India as chief Minister.

With such attributes and successes, it is difficult to rationalize the charge of being whimsical or inconsistent against Mamata as a popular leader.  So, let us examine why Mamata is being called whimsical or inconsistent.

Consistent Maoism?

First, the inconsistency between her reported claim of ‘there is no Maoists is Jungle Mahal’ in 2010 and her ‘offer of peace with Maoists and serving 7 days notice to stop killings’ in 2011. The critics are dishonest and distorting facts. She never said that Maoists did not exist in the Jungle Mahal: what she said was the Maoists are nothing but the extremist dissidents of the CPM. So, she clearly meant that the Maoists and CPM are all of the same variety who attempts at terrorizing democracy out of the country.

Yes, she did ask the Centre to withdraw armed forces that were given to the former CPM government. And, she argued clearly why she said so: the CPM was using these forces to protect the CPM’s own armed Harmad Bahini goons to capture the different areas  they had lost to the dissidents who flocked to Maoists insurgency parties led by infiltrators from outside the State. She also alleged that the CPM was using the police forces to help CPM Harmard forces to terrorise common households in the Jungle who were terrorized by Maoists to give they shelter, cover and money.  Since she interpreted the Jungle episode at that time as a War between the CPM and the Maoists, she was against allowing central armed forces to help the CPM armed cadres.  She even suggested that the War against the Maoists be between the Central Govt. armed forces directly against the Maoists extremists. She was clearly against any violent political expansionism and reign of terror either by the Maoists and the Marxists.

Now that the CPM has lost out hands down and she has to deal with the Maoists extremism, she has been trying to win over the hearts of the common households in the Jungle Mahal by initiating projects of cheap food distribution, development projects, employment creation in the Jungle Mahal and also offering financial and other assistance to youth surrendering arms and promising to return to normal non-violent, non-extremists careers. Having won a measure of Trust for her and the state administration including the police, she advised the Maoists to come to a truce, ending their terror activities in the Jungle region of West Bengal or face the consequences of administrative actions against their terrorism and killing activities.

Maoists however cannot abandon their ideology of violent struggle to capture sovereign power over people in the localities they intend to increase their influence. The CPM cadre attack is no longer a threat to the Maoist, but they cannot afford Mamata win over the hearts of households in the Jungle Mahal. So, they warned Mamata of not releasing under-trial Maoists as political prisoners as promised by Mamata before she won the elections.  Mamata did promise review of political prisoners and their release and has, on the recommendation of a Committee headed by a former Judge, some political prisoners. She had never promised to release under-trial Maoists, nor would any Committee recommend release of arrested criminals of Maoist variety. She would only help those of the Maoist who surrender arms and appeal for rehabilitation in society as a non-violent citizen. As increasing number of residents gradually respond to her advice, take jobs in police department and other development projects and abandon their Telegu Leaders from outside, Mamata has challenged the Maoist to kill her and face the consequences of a all out attack by the Administration and the common public to eliminate the Maoists from Bengal or elsewhere.

Mamata had always a clear, consistent strategy to deal with the Maoists. She never defended the Maoists. She only stood in favour of the citizens of Jungle Mahal subjected to torture by both the Maoists and the CPM’s Harmad forces. She is still implementing that same strategy. She has all sympathies and helps towards the oppressed and will not tolerate oppressors of any variety. If the critics did not understand Mamata’s strategy, they can only find inconsistency in Mamata’s consistency.

Whimsical Cancellation of Dhaka visit over Teesta Water?

Mamata was not whimsical: it was plain and simple whimsical and irresponsible behaviour of the Foreign Affairs and other concerned departments to treat West Bengal’s new elected government as irrelevant to the Dacca visit of the Prime Minister. Mamata had a clear understanding of the role and scope of responsibility of the State Government in foreign affairs: the critics perspective was limited to the notion that foreign affairs are a central subject and no negotiations is necessary between Centre and the State before the centre can enter into agreements with foreign countries, irrespective of the implications on particular State’s resources.

Whimsical Decisions Galore?

What about the decision to change the name of West Bengal? There was great enthusiasm for changing the State’s name and then Mamata just settled for Paschim Bongo.  We do not know what name she would have liked. But she meekly accepted Pashim Bongo in Bengali to drive out West Bengal from English also. Who was whimsical – those who inserted the words West Bengal in official while the area was clearly known as Paschim Bangla / Bongo since the day of the British or those who today felt comfortable with Paschim Bongo?

What about the bill to reintroduce Bidhan Parishad – the upper house in West Bengal? Mamata quietly dropped the idea after creating lot of excitement on the issue.  She is indeed seen to have desire for change of names or new interesting names, especially for trains, railway stations                               and recognize the contributions of Great Bengalis of the past. But in the case of the change in the name of the State, she did not find that worthwhile to spend her energy: Paschim Bongo was as good as Paschim Bnga or Bongodesh and the like.

Isn’t the land acquisition policy in respect of industries whimsical? The industry owners will have now to acquire the entire land all by themselves and the State will not acquire any land for private industry. This, the industrialists and critics argue, would mean no industry will come up in the State from now; especially very big industries would not come up. Industrial regeneration of West Bengal would thus be impossible. Mamata is therefore painted as impractical and therefore whimsical. Critics failed to scratch beyond the surface to appreciate the implications of the reality.  The entire country is soon to adopt a policy of no more than 20% of the land for any private industry being acquired by the State. If the industry can acquire 80% are they going to fail in the respect of the 20%? Second, how many land-gobbling big industries can West Bengal afford now given her low per hectare land productivity and given the high density of population? To release substantial land to industry, agriculture has to increase and productivity by many folds. How many large employment generating, large land gobbling, large industrial investments will really be attracting private investment? To be counted in a single finger would be the realistic answer. So better would be look at monitoring the idling of land already acquired by private industry and bring them to use. That would be the priority. As for new land procurement, private industry directly competing to get land from the open market would set the land values to the fair level and actually drive out land mafias that the politicians are interesting in cultivating. Mamata has greater foresight than the critics and the industrialists used to indirect land subsidy from the political regimes.

What about the crash crunch of the State Government and the State electricity companies not allowed hike for tariff rates in the face of rising costs of all inputs and bulging cash losses? I am still not still sure about how whimsical and irrational Mamata is. But I am sure she does not want the State Government and the state-owned electricity companies to grind to a halt and there is only time left till December when Mamata would complete 200 days to explain her performance in relation to the commitments in the manifesto. She needs a long term strategy worked out soon. This I presume she is working on currently without letting her critics to get a clue.