Pranabbabu's Hilsa

Pranab Mukherjee is no longer seen by the CPM as a man from Delhi out to deny the state at the instance of the Congress high command, but rather as West Bengal's point man with a happy eye on the Left

Rajat Roy Kolkata

How close is Pranab Mukherjee with the West Bengal CPM? A CPM leader of the state answers obliquely, "In the next general elections, I will go to Jangipur to campaign in favour of 'Pranabbabu'. You know what I will do there? I will simply play the tape-recording of what Prakash Karat had said about him."

Before the presidential election, Karat had said in public that Pranab Mukherjee was the most suitable candidate for the post. Referring to that comment, the CPM leader quipped, "If Pranabbabu could be the fittest candidate for the country's highest constitutional post, than there is no reason why he can't be the fittest candidate to be returned to Lok Sabha from Jangipur."

The reality is that CPM leaders of West Bengal have come to see in Pranab Mukherjee a friendly ally in Delhi. Indeed, gone are those days when the CPM used to remind its voters about Bengal's compulsive deprivation manipulated by the Centre. They would then recall with bitterness about the cancellation of the finance commission's award of Rs 370 crore to West Bengal in 1984 (Pranab Mukherjee was the Union finance minister those days). Now, CPM leaders like Tarit Topdar, a member of Lok Sabha from Barrackpore, are all praise for Pranab Mukherjee.

Topdar feels Pranabbabu has the maturity to understand the subtle changes taking place in national politics. He is no longer seen as a man from Delhi out to deny and deprive the state at the instance of the Congress high command, rather as Bengal's 'point man' in Delhi.

The present and past chief ministers of Bengal share this changed perception: Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and Jyoti Basu. Whenever Bhattacharya needs some delicate help from the Centre, Pranabbabu is there to lend him a patient hearing. Mukherjee, in turn, comes to Bhattacharya when the UPA government needs crucial support from the Left, as in the recent controversy centred round the Indo-US nuclear deal. It was Mukherjee's suggestion that led to that 'sensitive' meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Buddhadeb Bhattacharya.

Also, earlier, it was Mukherjee who worked out the modalities with the Left to ensure its crucial support for the safe passage of the controversial Patent Bill in Parliament. Not only Bhattacharya, but other CPM MPs like Tarit Topdar, Sudhangshu Sil, Amitava Nandy and Swadesh Chakrabarty are often seen at Delhi's

residence of the foreign minister. Topdar admits, Pranabbabu helps a number of CPM MPs with facts, background and references of precedence. But, he laments, the Bengal CPM does not seem to make good use of this opportunity. "It is due to our weakness, our lack of imagination, that we are unable to utilise this access for the betterment of our state," he says.

Detractors within the Congress say that Mukherjee's closeness with the Left has a personal angle: he depends on the Left for his 'safe passage' to Parliament. And in return, Mukherjee chooses to turn a blind eye to the 'wrongdoings' of Buddhadeb Bhattacharya 's government.

It is true that in the 1990s Pranab Mukherjee won his Rajya Sabha seat courtesy cross-voting from the Left. But the only Lok Sabha election he won from Jangipur in 2004 was a hard-fought one. In that election, Mukherjee defeated his rival, seating CPM MP Abul Hasnat Khan, by a margin of 36,920 votes; the TMC candidate, Sheesh Mohammed, got only 19,725 votes. Still, a section of the West Bengal Congress criticise Mukherjee for his alleged soft attitude towards the Left. The oft repeated instance they cite is when he never even bothered to visit Nandigram after the police firing there which raised a public outcry in Bengal and rest of the country. Mukherjee has an answer to that. As a union minister he just can't visit a state and intervene in a situation that is strictly a state subject.

Topdar praises Mukherjee and in the same breath condemns Priya Ranjan Das Munshi. "Das Munshi, being a union minister himself, made a trip to Nandigram on a motorcycle pillion. It shows that he still behaves more like a local politician and did not graduate to the national level,” he says.

It is true that Mukherjee has had an attitudinal change towards the Left. But that is not without justification. People close to him explain that in the era of coalition politics, the Congress must learn to have a strong and dependable ally to run the government. On that score, the Left is more trustworthy and predictable than totally unpredictable political forces like Jayalalithaa, Mayawati or Mamata Bannerjee. And sooner or later, the Congress will have to make a conscious choice between these two sets of allies.

There is no doubt, while there are ups and down in his relationship with state Congress leaders like Adhir Choudhury in West Bengal, his relations with the Left seems to be growing leaps and bounds. No wonder, Pranabbabu seems to be becoming a hot and cosy favourite with the Left, especially the CPM. So will it lead to a shift in the tide?