ZUBAIR AHMED reads the political pulse in the Andamans and Nicobar Islands and feels the massive landslide victory of Trinamool Congress in West Bengal will have substantial repercussions on the Island politics.
The massive landslide victory of Trinamool Congress in West Bengal will have substantial repercussions on the Island politics. It was expected that Manoranjan Bhakta with his half-a-century long successful association with Indian National Congress would draw Congressmen the way light draws moths. That did not happen. Although, the response to the formation of Trinamool Congress in Andamans on August 3, 2010 was lukewarm, Bhakta, the master schemer, kept the cards close to his hearts.
On the other hand, his friendly foe Bishnu Pada Ray, the prime mover of TMC in the Islands, could not join the party with BJP unwilling to divorce him for the time being. But he was astute enough to plant his wife Rupa Ray as one of the working presidents along with Hemraj Bahadur and Bishwajit Lahiri. Lahiri, a staunch RSS man, disregarding his ideology, had left BJP peeved by the way the party treated him. He was the grassroots support that orchestrated the whole show. He too has been shown the door by the Bhakta faction.
The mismatched wedlock between Bishnu and Bhakta factions started to show its ugly face soon after the formation of TMC. As expected, skirmishes started to appear after the local body elections, in which TMC could not pose a major threat to existing political parties. In the Municipal elections, it grabbed only one seat, a disgruntled Congress-rival Mahendar Singh won with comfortable lead. It is now confirmed that he too has left TMC and joined Congress as he has been totally overlooked while sharing the booty of Municipal Council, a body which is proxy controlled.
The crack became wide and clear when the party elections were held. Manoranjan Bhakta dropped the name of Rupa Ray, who was supposed to lead and organise women. Two press notes were issued with and without Rupa Ray’s name in it. Moreover, the Bhakta faction has distanced itself from the issues taken up by Bishnu Pada Ray. The Buffer Zone issue was handled alone by the sitting MP with no support from the other faction.
Soon after the formation of TMC, he had disappeared from the scene. Bhakta’s moment has arrived. He was waiting for the right time to strike. Highly regarded and respected by Mamata, Bhakta was seen prominently in the seat sharing discussion of TMC-Congress combine. He is learnt to be ready with a master plan for the Islands, good or bad.
Known to be a sharp politician with an enigmatic personality, Bhakta is learnt to rake up the demand for an Assembly for the Islands. Forget that it was Bhakta, who had planned and successfully got the then Pradesh Parishad abolished in 1990s. He will try to rip up every obstacle that was posed before him by his own apprentices. With Mamata’s bargaining power, it will become easy for him to manipulate the current administrative setup with change right from the top, thus cutting off the link between the administrator and his man Friday.
It is also learnt that he may opt for a Rajya Sabha seat, thus paving the way clear for his friendly foe to contest the lone seat in the next Lok Sabha elections. Moreover chances are there that he may demand the UPA, of course through Mamata, to allot the lone seat to TMC in the next elections.
These are all probabilities and quite enough to give sleepless nights to many upcoming politicians. What the Islands will gain from the above is a matter not to be discussed in public. Will the Islands turn into another regional state? Or what will be the political equations remains a guess at this moment. Let us wait and watch the drama going to unfold in the coming days.