Fate of 'Siliguri model'And Deb linked to poll

ANINDYA SENGUPTA AND AVIJIT SINHA, TT, Oct. 2: The scope of the so-called "Siliguri model" of the Left and the fate of Trinamul minister Gautam Deb are in the balance of the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad elections on October 3.

The reason why the rural election is a litmus test for both Deb and the Left is the Siliguri Municipal Corporation elections that the CPM won in April under the leadership of Asok Bhattacharya.

The Darjeeling district plains areas outside Siliguri have 70 tea gardens across the nine mahakuma parishad constituencies. Of the 4.21 lakh voters, around 70,000 - tribals and Gorkhas - are dependent on this industry. This is also a pocket where all Opposition parties have tried to consolidate support through labour unions because Trinamul does not hold sway in most of the gardens. The Left-backed Citu and the Congress's trade union arm Intuc have considerable support among workers.

The Congress and the CPM have told the electorate to vote for anybody, but Trinamul.

A senior Trinamul leader in Siliguri conceded that the party was yet to recover from the Siliguri civic election defeat and the consolidation of the Opposition forces had added to the pressure. "An undercurrent of uncertainty is there in Trinamul because of the adjustments among Opposition parties. Our party leaders are aware of this. This (the uncertainty in Trinamul) has instilled confidence in Left leaders and supporters to take Trinamul head-on,'' the leader said.

The CPM's Bhattacharya, a couple of days back, had challenged Mamata Banerjee to campaign in the mahakuma areas, and said even then Trinamul would not win when the results emerge on October 7. "We are certain of victory . We will win all the nine mahakuma parishad seats and the majority of the lower two tiers,'' Bhattacharya has said several times during campaigns.

"Here all the Opposition parties have informally come together to prevent Trinamul hooliganism on the day of the elections. And that will fetch positive results,'' Bhattacharya said.

Which raises the prospect of the Siliguri model.

In the 2009 Siliguri civic elections, the Left had supported the Congress in the election of the mayor in order to keep out Trinamul. After the SMC April elections this year, the Left again supported the Congress in the election of borough chiefs.

For tomorrow's election, in 15 of the 22 gram panchayats - the lowest tier in the mahakuma - the Congress and the Left have not given candidates to help each other win in some pockets. Officially, the Left and the Congress have no tie-up.

Besides such an Opposition consolidation, Trinamul also has the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha to contend with.

The tea belt of the Dooars and Terai have a sizeable concentration of Gorkhas who form around 20 per cent of the electorate.

Morcha chief Bimal Gurung's repeated criticism of the Mamata-led state government over alleged meddling in the hill autonomous council has not gone unnoticed by this group. "Trinamul has crossed swords with our leader Gurung. That means our Gorkha brothers in the hills are not well and happy. Given that, how can we be happy, living in the plains?'' asked Sankar Adhikari, the Morcha's Terai committee convener.

The Morcha has an understanding with the BJP and the Kamtapur People's Party (KPP).

The Ranjbangshis, who make up the KPP support base, alone won't wreak havoc, but they are a disgruntled lot. They feel ignored by the state government, which has doled out money to hill cultural boards but done nothing for this backward section.

The SMP results would in many ways show the extent of hold Trinamul has in the 11 Assembly seats in the Dooars and Terai.

In case Trinamul does poorly, it will be a double defeat in one year for Deb, who steered the civic election campaign and is helming the mahakuma show.

Sources in Trinamul said a defeat on October 7 could deal a body blow to the north Bengal development minister and raise questions about his continuation as the vice-chairman of the North Bengal Development Council.

A Trinamul defeat would bring back Left dominance in the plains and could indirectly brighten the prospects for the Morcha in the hills and the foothills.

It would also give the Left state leadership an opportunity to ponder if the Siliguri model, of a need-based political understanding with the single-point motive to defeat Trinamul, is worth replicating elsewhere.

"There is no doubt that the SMP polls are an acid test for Deb. He has to win the SMP in order to keep his position in Trinamul secure,'' said a party leader close to the minister. "Also, the Left will feel the urge to tom-tom its now famous Siliguri model.''

Trinamul secretary-general Partha Chatterjee and Deb seemed confident of a favourable mandate in the last leg of the campaign.

"Mamata Banerjee has set an example as chief minister by taking up an array of development projects in north Bengal. People living in rural areas of Siliguri sub-division, who will vote on October 3, have seen her sincerity for an all-round development of this region," Chatterjee said in Siliguri yesterday.

Deb believes the government has worked hard for tribal welfare and that could fetch positive results. "The state government is doing a lot the for tribals, including the formation of a separate state department,'' he said.

Deb is also banking on defections that Trinamul has engineered from the Congress in all the four blocks - Matigara, Naxalbari,Phansidewa and Kharibari.