Before Purulia became infamous for the case of the mysterious weapons consignment being air-dropped into it in 1995, it was better known as one of Bengal’s poorest districts, and one which adjoins one of the richest mineral belts in the state. In Purulia live the Santhal tribals. The landscape is arid but picturesque, more Bihar than Bengal, dotted with date palms, and in the district headquarters, with small, meticulously-maintained churches from the British Raj which service the Christian tribal population.
Purulia is still poor. According to the additional district magistrate Hrishikes Mudi, the main occupation of the people is cultivation, and less than 10% of the cultivable area (which is 10% of the land), is actually cultivated. Water is a major problem, especially this year, in which a drought has officially been declared in Purulia.
But it appears that the poor, who have voted in the Communist Party (Marxist) decade after decade, could now be making a big decision in favour of what they call “Parivartan” or Change. Purulia is vital to the Communist success this time – it voted them out in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, and could do the same in these Assembly elections.
It was evident in the turnout of the rally organized by the CPM this afternoon – a few hundred, compared with at least 30,000 who came to Bardhaman district yesterday to listen to opposition candidate Mamata Banerjee. This, despite the CPM bringing out their big guns – housing minister Gautam Deb, whose constituency is Dum Dum in Calcutta and who is slated to be the CPM’s choice for Chief Minister should they win, and Biman Bose, chairman of the Left Front and member of the Communist Politburo.
The stump speeches were certainly eloquent, and poetic. After all, the Communists are all educated – and elegant in their crisp white kurta-pyjamas (a far cry from the bedraggled population they are trying to keep on their side). But the content is filled with a growing vitriol against Banerjee and the media. It is a grievance speech, not the speech of a winner planning for a promising electoral future.
Deb, however, is a more realistic leader. He acknowledges the CPM defeat in 2009, and promises that the party will be more responsive this time around. “In some cases, our party workers have not acted in the best interest of our people…we made a mistake and we are correcting it,” he says. He then makes some pretty amazing commitments:
- Rice at Rs. 2 per kg to families earning under Rs. 10,000 a month
- A provident fund scheme for the unorganized service sector – already in existence for bus drivers but now extended to rickshaw pullers, maids and other women in similar jobs.
- Transport coupons for students in 11th and 12th grade so they can travel to school – and jobs thereafter for the school graduates
- Medical insurance for the poor
- Electricity for all
Then even he cannot resist making a personal jab at Banerjee, calling her inconsistent in her talk and having the mental age of a child. Later, in an exclusive meeting with my fellow travelers and myself, he says she is a loner without a real party.
That may be. But Banerjee has spent the last decade with only one goal in mind: unseating the Communist party.
She may actually succeed. Bengal, like the rest of India, has a large, aspirational youth bulge – except that Bengal has had no opportunity.
Banerjee may not give it to her people in the way they deserve, but she does give them hope for the first time.
And the CPM is also, for the first time in 34 years, facing the prospect of defeat – a bitter pill to swallow, but one which could force the party into its own ‘parivartan’ or change to become more like the Communists they truly admire – their comrades in China.
Image courtesy: thisscreennameistaken/Flickr
Manjeet Kripalani is Executive Director of Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations.
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