The President's Kolkata

This is indeed an unusual time for Kolkata. For the first time, a lay visitor to the city would get a feeling that the Congress actually exists in the state. Pranab Mukherjee's posters are splashed all over the city - right from the airport to the inner city. Ironically, at several places, they are put up right beside Mamata di's posters. Yesterday, when the now-heralded 'son of the soil' finally landed in Kolkata, he received a rousing welcome from CPM and Congress legislators alike. For a brief coverage of his visit, click here. 

There are two distinct themes that I would like to explore in this post. Firstly, the irony of the Congress gaining some visibility at the time of departure of its tallest leader. Secondly, of the rationale behind CPM's rather enthusiastic support for his candidature.

Turning to the first theme. It is fairly well-known that Pranab Mukherjee isn't quite a mass leader. In fact, his victory from Jangipur in Murshidabad district in 2004 was the first time that he entered the Lok Sabha, despite having been a minister way back in 1973. Yet, as of today, he is the only recognizable face of the Congress in West Bengal, especially since Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi met an accident. The most prominent leaders, including Deepa Dasmunsi and Adhir Chowdhury, behave more like sub-regional chieftains than as Bengali leaders.

Pranab Mukherjee's departure probably would not make much of a difference to the cause of the Congress in West Bengal. The local strongholds of the party, such as Murshidabad, remain largely intact. However, what amazes me is that the potential to grow has been temporarily lost. The very same posters that have come up in Kolkata now could have come up earlier. Evidently, funding wasn't a constraint. The will was.

Now, with Mukherjee gone, I do not see any leader who could possibly have been the face that leads a resurgence for the Congress in West Bengal. Not to say that Mukherjee helped much. It would be reasonable to say that, were Congress to jettison itself from Mamata's Government, a major theme in the next Lok Sabha elections would be Mamata's rejection of the first Bengali President. Will that help the Congress in Bengal? Hard to say. What can be said with certainty is that an opportunity has been lost. 

Now turning to the second and more intriguing theme - why is the CPM supporting Pranab's candidature so enthusiastically? Senior party leaders have said that it is to create a divide between the Congress and the Trinamool. It is hard to digest this explanation at several levels - firstly, how does CPM supporting Pranab widen the divide? Possibly, by angering the mercurial Mamata that her ally has tied up with a foe. However, given that the CPM leaders have been shouting from rooftops that it is their intention to do so, does that not run counter-productive to their stated aim? Why would the CPM be so 'honest', given that this honesty would reduce the effectiveness of their goal? This is what I find hard to digest.

The reason, I believe, could be as simple as good networking on Pranab's part with leaders from the CPM, especially from its West Bengal unit. If the purpose is to mask the stated political differences, so many other reasons could be given. At present, the CPM just seems to be a directionless boat, looking for any semblance of strategy.