A couple of years ago, a company gave me the task of resolving an issue in their Bengal unit. I made three visits to Kolkata and interacted with the concerned parties to bring about a resolution. A TMC councilor, who had nothing directly to do with the problem, was the main stakeholder. His style was peremptory. It reminded me of the days of kings and landlords. Since my entire service as a police officer has been in Tamil Nadu, I was used to interacting with a very different type of politicians. For one thing, a politician from Tamil Nadu, even if he expressed the desire for playing a role in the resolution of the issue, he would have given an apologetic explanation for why he felt his participation might help. The TMC councilor assumed his participation to be mandatory.
I utilised my time to talk to my driver and others to figure out Mamata-vaad as a political ideology. Let me share my understanding of Mamata-vaad.
Essence of Mamata-vaad
- The ultimate aim of politics is to remain in power. Every act and every strategy should be oriented to this ultimate goal.
- For a political party in power, violence is the most effective weapon. Use violence to prevent the growth of alternatives.
- Authority of officials drawn from the constitution, the laws and the rules is a threat to political authority. So, officials should be allowed to exercise their authority only under the supervision of political authority and only to the extent that it would not weaken the political authority. For this, interference of politicians should be institutionalised. It should not be left to the discretion of officials to decide whether they would allow participation by local politicians in decision-making.
- In a predominantly Hindu country, Muslims are the political asset of a party like TMC. The growth of their number through infiltration from Bangladesh and putting power in their hands is an important element in the winning strategy of TMC.
- While pampering Muslims, Hindu sentiments must be catered to.
- National parties like BJP, Congress and Communists must be kept out by whipping up a Bengali identity.
- The winning formula: Focus on Muslims, assuaging Hindu sentiments whenever there is a hurt and setting up Bengali vs Hindi antithesis.
Will this Structure Break this Time?
Let us consider the factors that might go against Mamata-vaad:
- Former TMC MLA Humayun Kabir's construction of a Babari mosque and his expulsion from TMC might build up into a storm against Mamata-vaad. Owaisi, whom many believe to be today's Jinnah has attained successes during recent elections. He is working on the principle that three seats in a state won independently by his party are more important than a hundred seats won in a coalition with another party. A pure AIMIM seat is a node for the spread of an ideology that defines Owaisy's dream for a future where the Prime Minister of India will be a burqa-clad woman. As the Owaisy dream takes hold of the Muslim mind, a major section of the TMC vote-bank might peal off.
- SIR and the resolve of the Election Commission to ensure a violence-free election could bring down the TMC count of votes.
- Owaisy's and Humayun Kabir's open expression of Islamic ambitions could polarise Hindu votes in favour of BJP.
Does this give BJP a chance? Let us wait and see!