Kolkata: In her first cabinet decision West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has ordered the return of 400 acres of promised land to farmers in Singur, where Tata’s small car factory was to be set up. She, however, welcomed the “Tatababus” to set up a factory on 600 acres of remaining land.

Earlier after taking oath the triumphant first woman CM of Bengal walked to the Writers from Raj Bhavan with the crushing crowed in a symbolic 34 minutes journey. “Democracy is with people,” she later said when asked why she preferred walking.

File photo of Mamata Banerjee

In her first press conference as a CM, Didi – as she is fondly known – said, “…400 acres will be returned in Singur. Paper will be prepared in this regard. If the Tatababus are interested in setting up the industry…it will have to be on 600 acres.”

When confronted by the media that neither the existing land acquisition act of 1894 permit such return, nor subsequent Supreme Court rulings, she said, “Everything will be done legally.”

Tata Motors later in the evening clarified: “There has not been any official reaction from the Tata Group on Singur issue.”

She, however, welcomed the Tatas as long as they restrict themselves with those 600 acres in Singur. “Everybody is welcome in Bengal,” she asserted.

Tata Motors was going to set up a small car factory in Singur, but some farmers were unwilling as they were not happy with the compensation. As a 92 year old Gopal Santra, one of the most vocal farmers from the opposing camp had told this writer during the agitation, “Tata came here not for country service. But for business… We want Tata, but we also want job security.”

Few days back Ratan Tata was in town to inaugurate a specialty hospital build by them.

Kolkata: Poriborton (Change) was made official today in Kolkata. Mamata Banerjee took oath as the first woman Chief Minister of West Bengal.

In a historic assembly election her party, Trinamul Congress (TMC) in alliance with the Congress, routed the Left after 34 years of uninterrupted rule from the state and rove on the anti-incumbancy for change. Poriborton chaai (need changes) was her main slogan.

Courtesy: IBNlive

Former Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and LF chairman Biman Bose put up a brave faces and were present in the swearing in ceremony. They were personally invited by the new CM. From New Delhi, three cabinet ministers P Chidambaram, Pranab Mukherjee and AK Antony had come.

Along with her 43 minsters took oath  – 7 congress members, 36 TMC members. The list included Amit Mitra, the former secretary general of FICCI, and is tipped to be her finance minister and senior leaders Partha Chatterjee, Manish Gupta, Subrata Mukherjee, Abdul Karim Chowdhury, Sadhan Pandey, Upen Biswas, Sabitri Mitra, Bratya Basu, Madan Mitra and Noore Alam Chowdhury.

At least 5 Muslim MLAs too found berth in the list of ministers.

Banerjee resigned yesterday as Railway Minister to become the eighth CM of the state. Four gaint screens have been put up at the Shahid Minaar, within the walking distance of the Governor House, for people to witness the event.

She went to Kalighat temple before reaching Raj Bhawan. While thanking her supporters she requested to maintain calm. She told them: “Thank you for your support. We need to keep calm and work.”

She foresaw the next seven days as very hectic when she has to work day and night and will hence “not meet anyone.”

UDF won 72 seats, crossing the magic figure of 71 required for a simple majority as against its rival LDF’s 68.Led by CPI-M stalwart, 87-year-old V S Achuthanandan, the LDF succeeded in staving off the anti-incumbency trend against the government, which was reflected in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls and civic elections last year, in which the UDF had stolen march over the Left front.Even as LDF lost, the CPI(M) emerged as the single largest party with 45 seats while Congress, which contested 82 seats, had to be content with a poor tally of 38 seats.

Today’s outcome gave the slenderest majority to either of the coalitions that ruled the state alternately in the last three decades. In 2006, the LDF won 98 seats and UDF 42.The Indian Union Muslim League and Kerala Congress (Mani), which command good following in the Muslim and Christian dominated areas, contributed significantly to UDF”s victory.

However, the minor partners of the coalitions like JSS and CMP drew a blank.The BJP once again proved an electoral flop in the bipolar polity of Kerala despite the saffron party pooling its resources in a handful of seats in north and south.Prominent UDF candidates, who romped home, include its Chief Ministerial probable Oommen Chandy, KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala, K Muraleedharan (Cong) IUML leader P K Kunhalikutty and Kerala Congress leader K M Mani (Pala).CPI(M) veteran V S Achuthanandan, whose high spirited campaigning helped the LDF arrest the onslaught of the rival, scored a hat-trick of wins from the red bastion Malampuzha with a margin of over 23,000 votes.

While most of his cabinet colleagues won, Devaswom Minister Ramahandran Kadnapally (Cong-s), Water Resources Minister N K Premachandran (RSP)and Youth Affairs Minister V Surendran Pillai fell by the wayside.Veterans humbled by the voters included 92-year-old K R Gowry Ammma (JSS) and M V Raghavan (CMP), both UDF partners.LDF maintained its sway over the northern districts, except the Muslim League-dominated Malappuram.While UDF put up good showing in the Christian heartland Central Travancore, the trend was mixed in the south including the state capital.

More surprisingly, J Jayalalithaa’s AIADMK has already ruined the hopes of the scam-hit DMK and Congress combine. The telecom graft has swept the incumbents out of Tamil Nadu.

At the threshold of much-needed change in West Bengal, Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee simply said: “I will be happy if people triumph.”

In Kerala, the question remains whether the LDF will be able to buck a nearly 30-year trend in which the electorate has alternately returned to power the LDF and the UDF. Early trends don’t suggest so with the UDF slightly ahead of the Left.

In Assam, the ruling Congress appears to be emerging as the single largest party in contention for a third successive term, while in Puducherry too it looks headed for a third term.

In the 294-seat Assembly in West Bengal, the 34-year-old regime of the Left front is set to crumble with Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress ahead in 210 seats. The Left Front is leading in 66 seats.

Trinamool Congress alone is leading in 177 seats, well above the halfway mark of 147 that may enable Mamata Banerjee form a government on her own. Her ally Congress was ahead in 33 seats while CPI(M) was ahead in 48.

AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa is set to become Chief Minister for the third time in Tamil Nadu after worsting DMK in the keenly-contested elections in which the 2G scam was a major issue.

AIADMK alliance was ahead in 194 seats and DMK combine in 36. AIADMK alone is leading in 136 seats, which well above the half-way mark.

Kerala has witnessed an interesting duel between the ruling Left Democratic Front led by CPI(M) and the Congress-led United Democratic Front. The UDF is ahead in 73 seats in the 140-member assembly. The LDF was leading in 67.

In Assam, Congress was ahead in 72 seats out of a total of 126. BJP and AGP were leading in seven seats each and Bodoland Peoples Front leading in five seats.

Congress, which contested alone, gets absolute majority this time unlike last time when it had only 53 seats and had to depend on support of Bodo People’s Front.

In the 30-member assembly in Puducherry, DMK-led alliance was ahead in 10 seats while AIADMK was leading in five.

The counting in four states and one Union Territory began at 8 am sharp on Friday to read the fates of some very heavyweights in the country and of an impregnable red fort that has so far scoffed at change but is now besieged.

For the Congress and the UPA, grappling with a credibility and an image problem — clouded by corruption and battered by hostile court judgments — today’s verdict from four key states could well be their mid-term trust vote.

Nowhere is this more evident than in Tamil Nadu where, locked in an alliance with the ruling DMK for seven years, the verdict will be read in the context of the 2G scam that’s been the UPA’s weakest spot. The drama around the setting up of a JPC, the arrest of former minister A Raja and a string of corporate executives, and the bail plea of DMK leader Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi — expected to be decided on Saturday — will all be seen in the context of who is triumphant tomorrow.

In West Bengal, the end of its 34-year reign could force the CPM to reimagine itself, its ideas and agendas in national politics. It will severely erode its power to serve as the glue of a non-Congress, non-BJP formation, and trigger debate in the ranks over the leadership that plunged the party from the historic high of 2004 and 2006 to a new low.

But in Kerala, with 140 seats, it’s the prestige of the Congress that’s at stake, being locked in a direct fight with the Left Front, especially as there has been a pattern of alternating power with the Left. Any break in that pattern would impact on Congress morale.

With Bihar Assembly results recently having squeezed the Congress, the south is something it boasts about as a place where it has its bases intact. A Kerala victory for the Congress is almost vital as it is the only significant state going to the polls this time where the Congress is the driving force of the alliance.

Assam, with 126 seats, the largest of the north-eastern states, is one where the incumbent Congress faces a divided Opposition. It looks Tarun Gogoi is heading for a third time as chief minister. This signals the return of activity on the peace process, very much a work in progress.

Kadapa (MP) and Pulivendula (MLA) in Andhra Pradesh, if they reinforce the late YSR’s son and wife as popular mass leaders, would have serious repercussions not only on the ruling Congress in the state, but also, by possibly rocking its Andhra boat, on its game plan for the Centre.

Overall, if the Congress, even if riding piggyback on its allies, is able to package the results as a “mandate” in its favour, it will help it to battle the resurgent Opposition, help secure the loyalty of the DMK and the TMC as it enters the second half of its stint at the Centre.

The BJP has no visible stakes in this election, but any flags it can plant on the ground in Kerala, West Bengal and Assam at a time of such political flux can only be advantageous. It’s also hoping to see the Left out of power in both states and then package itself as the only “real” opposition in the Centre. The Left, since 1996, has often been the major roadblock to the BJP’s plans to establish a bipolarity which makes it a default option as an Opposition, a diminution in the Left’s strength will only help the BJP in the long term.

With Jayalalithaa and Mamata set for wins, with Mayawati and Naveen Patnaik already settled as Chief Ministers, and to some extent Nitish Kumar, the options that the electorate have will go well beyond the proverbial Third Front and into a Fourth Front, which doesn’t necessarily see itself as aligned to either the Congress or the BJP or even the Left.

New Delhi: Tarun Gogoi has led the Congress to a hat-trick victory in Assam with the electorate giving a clear verdict on him. The Congress is all set to win a comfortable majority with the party already winning 45 seats and leading in another 20.

The majority mark in the 126-member Assam assembly is 64. Despite winning a majority, the Congress is set to form the next government with its present ally, Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), led by Hagrama Mohilary, a former militant.

Gogoi has proved he is the Congress’s best mascot in Assam by leading the party to victory from panchayat to parliament in all the elections, barring one, since 2001. He has proved once again that the people of Assam have no alternative to him at this juncture when the state is seriously trying to buy peace with rebel outfit Ulfa.

The opposition, regional party AGP, which went all out against Gogoi, accusing his government of being neck-deep in corruption, has shown a dismal performance and may reduce its tally of 24 seats in the 2006 assembly election. The AGP’s expected tally is 23, but the party has won just five and is leading in 16 seats.

Despite roping a battery of central leaders, including Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, the BJP failed to reach its 2006 tally of 10 seats and may have to content with about five seats only.

The biggest surprise in this election was the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), led by perfume baron Badaruddin Ajmal. The party is all set to emerge as the third force in Assam politics after the Congress and the AGP. The AIUDF has already won eight seats and is now leading in five others. Its 2006 tally was 10 seats.

Prominent AGP leaders who lost the election include party president Chandramohan Patoway and former president Brindaban Goswami. Former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, who contested from two seats, has lost the Samaguri seat to Congress minister Rockybul Hussain. Mahanta is, however, leading in his traditional Barhampur constituency in Nagaon district.

New Delhi: Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, who will take over the reins of power in West Bengal from outgoing chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, on Friday said that her party would like to retain the Railway Ministry.

“Prime Minister will take a decision. I will be meeting him and the Congress President Sonia Gandhi soon,” Banerjee said in Kolkata.

Banerjee, who is the Railway minister, said that she would like the Trinamool Congress to retain the Railway Ministry “as we have only one Cabinet berth”.

“We have achieved a lot in the Railway Ministry and have done a lot of good for the people. As such, we have a legitimate claim over the Railway Ministry,” she said.

Chennai: The Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK front forged ahead of its rival the ruling DMK front and is heading for a sweep, according to trends for assembly election in Tamil Nadu.

The AIADMK had established leads in over 190 seats in the 234-member House. The ruling DMK front is way behind, leading only in 39 constituencies.

Corruption charges on various DMK leaders arising out of the 2G spectrum allocation scam have come to haunt the party.

As the AIADMK juggernaut rolls on in Tamil Nadu, a majority of DMK ministers are trailing.

M Karunanidhi has submitted his resignation as the Tamil Nadu chief minister to governor Surjit Singh Barnala.

Among the DMK ministers trailing are finance minister K Anbazhagan, higher education minister K Ponmudi, food minister E V Velu, transport minister KN Nehru, health minister M R K Paneerselvam, backward classes minister K K S S R Ramachandran, agriculture minister Veerapandi Arumugham, hindu religious and charitable endowments minister K R Periyakaruppan, school education minister Thangam Thennarasu, tourism minister Suresh Rajan, sports minister T P M Mohideen Khan, commercial tax minister S N M Ubayadulla, foresh minister N Selvaraj, IT minister Poongothai Aladi Aruna and fisheries minister K P P Samy.

AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa was ahead in Srirangam.

Post-poll surveys were not very clear about who would come to power. 

Kolkata (Reuters): India’s beleaguered ruling coalition won some respite after a key ally overturned three decades of communist rule in West Bengal’s state election on Friday, but it suffered a huge loss in another poll as graft scandals hit government support.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, dogged by the biggest corruption scandal in India’s history, may gather some clout from the win, but he suffered the defeat of a key ally in the southern state of Tamil Nadu after a telecoms kickback scandal. He also risks the rise of a fickle populist ally in West Bengal.

The complicated post election scenarios highlight how Singh faces hard times in his second term amid signs the 78-year-old is increasingly out of touch with both reform-hungry investors and voters furious at inaction over corruption and inflation.

In Tamil Nadu, the regional DMK party and ruling Congress party ally were decimated. The party was linked to a $39 billion (23 billion pounds) telecoms scam that paralysed Singh’s government and hit foreign investment in Asia’s third-largest economy.

Mamata Banerjee’s win in West Bengal will be hailed as a victory for the Congress coalition, but the populist maverick who holds the balance of power in the national parliament will prove a thorn in the side of government economic reforms plans.

“Regional forces are again asserting their importance, and the Congress will have to make all kinds of bargains and compromises to fit them in,” said Ramachandra Guha, fellow of the Indian Institute of Management in Kolkata.

The main national opposition, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, scarcely improved on its scant presence in either West Bengal or Tamil Nadu, a sign Congress is still the national party to beat ahead of a 2014 general election.

Banerjee, a 56-year-old who wears a traditional sari with bathroom slippers, lives alone with her mother and is the latest in a string of women in this traditional society, like Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, who have risen to political power.

Millions of Bengalis rebelled against a moribund state economy and a leftist government stuck in a Cold War time warp.
“The people of West Bengal have won their freedom today,” Banerjee said. “The victory is of hapless people who have faced exploitation, violence, and discrimination.”

Jubilant supporters thronged outside Banerjee’s house in the state capital Kolkata, punching the air, dancing and shouting her name and waving their tricolour party flags. They pasted green paint on their foreheads to mark the victory.

The final results, due in a few hours, may also define how aggressively the left-of-centre government moves ahead with long-awaited reforms such as raising fuel prices and a land acquisition bill for farmers and industry.

India’s 30-share benchmark BSE index rose 2 percent, in part due to the election results.

“The election results will lead to some stability at the centre. It gives Congress more muscle to push through its reforms,” said R. K. Gupta, managing director of Taurus Mutual Fund.

The loss in Tamil Nadu may also be a silver lining for Congress, allowing Singh more leverage over a weakened ally.

The Congress coalition also won the northeastern state of Assam and the southern state of Kerala, but lost the tiny Pondicherry in southern India.

There is talk of a cabinet reshuffle in New Delhi after the election and a push by the government to pass bills in the July parliamentary session, including one to help industry acquire land from farmers.

With neither of the main national parties, Congress and BJP, able to secure majorities in general elections, electoral power in India comes down to forging coalitions with regional allies, who often have chequered records.

The results will take the political temperature in states that jointly make up a fifth of the 545-strong lower house of parliament and will help redraw the political map ahead of federal elections in 2014.

REGIONAL CHIEFTANS HOLD SWAY
India’s 28 states, with strong linguistic and cultural identities, have a high degree of autonomy and their leaders are some of the most important powerbrokers in India, often blocking policies by the federal government.

West Bengal sends 42 lawmakers to parliament and its long domination by the communists is one of the biggest reasons India’s founding socialist ideas retain political currency even after two decades of market reforms.

Banerjee’s Trinamool party in West Bengal is the biggest coalition ally of Congress and holds the balance of power in parliament. Her victory may force the government to be more dependent on an unpredictable partner opposed to several key economic reforms.

Analysts say Banerjee’s victory will give her a louder voice when the government mulls raising fuel prices or cutting down subsidies — measures that are key to keeping the fiscal deficit at the targeted 4.6 percent of GDP in 2011/12, when slowing economic growth may see a sluggish tax intake.

As the federal railway minister, Banerjee has kept fares untouched and expanded freebies. She has several times forced a deferral of decisions on raising fuel prices. Her party is also against more foreign investment in insurance.

In Tamil Nadu, the regional DMK party facing a series of arrests over a telecoms scam is the second biggest coalition ally and Singh may be forced to switch allegiance to the likely winner, the regional AIADMK party nearer to the 2014 election.

Singh’s government has been considering lifting controls on diesel and fertiliser prices and streamlining a bloated food subsidy programme, but these measures are politically unpalatable given inflation is at nearly 9 percent.

Rising tax revenue from an economy powering away at close to 9 percent has long let India avoid taking hard decisions on slashing expenditure, including subsidies on food, fuel and fertilisers that supporters say are needed to protect India’s half-a-billion mostly rural poor from inflation.

But growth this year is expected to slow down to 8.5 percent, weighed down by the nine rate hikes since last March effected to curb inflation.

The Congress in Assam is set to return to power for the third consecutive term leading comfortably in 75 constituencies in the 126-seat Assembly.

Its alliance partner Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF) has also performed creditably in the Bodoland districts leading in 12 constituencies.

The Congress appears to be in a position to form government on its own without the support of other parties, though Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has said the “BPF would continue to be a part of the government as it had helped it in difficult times”.

The AGP and BJP were leading in only seven and three seats, respectively. The AIUDF is leading in 15 seats, while CPI(M), CPI and NCP are yet to open their accounts, according to trends for 112 seats available.

Gogoi is leading in Titabor along with his cabinet colleagues Bhumidhar Barman (Barkhetri), Nurjamal Sarkar (Biswanath), Nazrul Islam (Lahorighat), Himanta Biswa Sarma (Jalukbari), Gautam Bora (Batadraba), Pradyut Bordoloi (Margharita), Ajanta Neog (Golaghat), Akan Bora (Dispur), Bharat Narah (Dhakuwakhana), Prithivi Majhi (Lahowal) are the prominent Congress candidates ahead in the electoral race.

AGP president Chandra Mohan Patowary (Dharmapur), former president Brindaban Goswami (Tezpur), party general secretary Hiten Goswami (Jorhat), sitting Nalbari MLA Alaka Desai Sarma are trailing.

BJP state unit president and Bihali sitting MLA Ranjit Dutta, Karimganj North sitting MLA and leader of the party in the assembly Mission Ranjan Das and Dibrugarh sitting party MLA Prasanta Phukan are trailing.

Former two-time chief minister and opposition leader Prafulla Kumar Mahanta is leading in his home constituency Baharampur, but is trailing in Samaguri behind forest minister Rockybul Hussain.

Sitting AGP MLAs ahead in the race are Padma Hazarika from Sootea, Girindra Kumar Baruah from Nowgong and Kesab Mahanta from Koliabor.

Former ULFA militants and sitting independent MLAS are showing mixed trends with Bokakhat MLA Jiten Gogoi trailing behind Congress, while Thowra MLA Kushal Duwari ahead of his nearest Congress rival.

Congress alliance partner BPF’s agriculture minister Pramilla Rani Brahma is leading in Kokrajhar West along with her two other party ministers Chandan Brahma (Sidli) and Rihon Daimary (Udalguri ST).

Former AGP ministers Atul Bora (Dispur), Ramendra Narayan Kalita (Guwahati West) and Jagadish Bhuyan (Sadiya) are also trailing.

Sitting Congress MLA and former minister (Capt) Robin Bordoloi (Guwahati East), former Lok Sabha MP Kirip Chaliha (Hajo), former Union minister Santosh Mohan Dev’s daughter Sushmita Dev (Silchar), Union minister and MP Paban Singh Ghatowar’s wife and sitting Moran MLA Jibontara Ghatowar are also leading.

The oldest sitting MLA and former minister Gobinda Langthasa is leading in Haflong.

 Chennai: AIADMK seems to be heading for a sweep in the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, having established leads in 193 constituencies in the 234-member House.

The ruling DMK front was way behind, leading only in 38 constituencies, as per the latest trends. Most of the ministers including DMK General Secretary K Anbazhagan were trailing.

The election was fought in the shadow of corruption allegations in the 2G scam and the promise of freebies like laptops and grinders.

The DMK alliance is projected to get 102 to 114 seats and the AIADMK alliance 120 to 132 seats. The AIADMK alliance with a 46 per cent vote share has a clear 2 per cent lead over DMK alliance’s 44 per cent.

In terms of choice of who should be chief minister Jayalalithaa leads the race for the first time since 2001. AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa is set to become Chief Minister for the third time in Tamil Nadu after wresting DMK in the keenly-contested elections in which the 2G scam was a major issue.

Almost 38 per cent people want Karunanidhi as chief minister and 43 per cent want Jayalalithaa – a lead of 5 per cent.

While most voters say they benefitted from the DMK government’s free bees gave thumbs up for the government. Corruption in the shadow of the 2G scam and family rule seems to have gone against the DMK.

About 47 per cent voters feel Karunanidhi is more corrupt versus 21 per cent for Jayalalithaa. Fifty three per cent feel Karunanidhi encourages more nepotism than Jayalalithaa and 33 percent felt Jayalalithaa was more authoritarian and 32 per cent felt Karunanidhi was authoritarian.

Poll Survey predicts a decisive edge for Jayalalithaa’s alliance. And if these numbers are confirmed on the 13th of May then the real test for the AIADMK chief will be on her ability to hold on to her pre-poll allies.