From Assembly polls win to Singur verdict, 2016 was Didi’s year

Kolkata: The year 2016 undoubtedly can be termed as the annus mirabilis for chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Proving political pundits wrong, she led her party, the Trinamul Congress, to a spectacular victory in the Assembly elections, decimating her opponents, the CPI(M)-led Left Front and Congress.

As if her return to power with a bang was not sweet enough, the icing on the cake was provided by the Supreme Court verdict on Singur, vindicating the Opposition for acquiring land for Tata’s now defunct Nano project.

At the fag end of 2016, Ms Banerjee certainly has every reason to be happy, though the start of the year wasn’t so cheerful. In March, Narada News aired a video of a sting operation, in which nearly a dozen top Trinamul Congress leaders were caught on camera accepting wads of cash. The leaders involved included Firhad Hakim, Sovan Chatterjee, Madan Mitra, Arup Biswas, Saugata Roy et al.

The expose left Ms Banerjee red-faced. The Opposition, bereft of any issue, grabbed the Narada sting video as a godsend. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to the “bundles of notes” by greedy TMC leaders in his election campaign speeches. In another embarrassment, an under-construction flyover collapsed in the city, killing over two dozen people.

Media reports made it clear that one of the sub-contractors for supplying construction material to the ill-fated flyover was Rajat Bakshi, a nephew of heavyweight local TMC leader Sanjay Bakshi.  This revelation was viewed as the proverbial last straw. Since all these damaging incidents were taking place only days before the first round of polling of the Assembly elections.

Political observers predicted that the TMC would have a tough electoral battle ahead. Many went so far as to suggest that the Left-Congress alliance would give Ms Banerjee’s party a run for its money. Even the TMC supreme, at one stage, looked tense. When the results were announced, every one was stunned with the TMC’s victory.

In 2011, when Trinamul Congress had contested in alliance with Congress, it won 184 seats, but this time the Congress and CPI(M) ensured that anti-TMC vote was not split, though they could not stop the party from returning to power with a massive two-third majority.

Observers feel Ms Banerjee’s personal charisma, popularity and credibility led to the landslide victory. The development work that her government accomplished in the first tenure and the welfare schemes — like Kanyashree, Jubashree, free cycles to students, rice at Rs 2 per kg — it launched for the poor and weaker sections also contributed to the victory.

After the completion of her first five-year rule, Ms Banerjee had only one regret: that she could not keep the promise of returning land to Singur farmers.

In August, the Supreme Court gave what she hailed as a “landmark verdict”, setting aside the land acquired by the previous Left Front government for Nano plant in Singur. “Now I can die in peace,” an overwhelmed chief minister said. Her government returned the land to hundreds of farmers in Singur ahead of the deadline set by the apex court. Continuing her party’s winning spree, the Trinamul Congress last won two Lok Sabha and one Assembly bypolls. To Ms Banerjee’s delight, the party also received the national party status from the Election Commission.

After establishing her complete supremacy in Bengal, Ms Banerjee has now set her eyes on the National capital.

In November, she launched a strident movement against the Modi government’s demonetisation drive in Delhi, and addressed rallies in Lucknow and Patna also. Eyeing 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the flamboyant chief minister seems all determined to unite anti-BJP forces and form a formidable front.