Right through the thirty or so minutes Mamata Banerjee spent before the Chief Justice of India at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, many fingers must have been tightly crossed, fans hoping and praying she would not suddenly lose her temper, hurl documents in the air and flounce out of the court room, her political rivals waiting for the exact same sequence of events to unfold so they could mock Mamata Banerjee till kingdom come.
Opposition parties in West Bengal have labelled it all a "natak" or high drama. Every BJP leader in the state has used that word as well as leaders of the state Congress and the Left. But even her worst critics must acknowledge that she has today cemented her place in the history books as the first-ever chief minister in India to represent, in person, her people in the Supreme Court and that her debut in its hallowed halls was flawless.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating, of course. Hardcore critics are wondering if her Supreme Court intervention was executed merely as good optics for her constituency in poll-bound West Bengal or whether it will indeed turn the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal into a rational, logical, smooth and effective exercise than it has proved to be so far.
Since the exercise to enumerate West Bengal's 7.62 crore voters began, 58 lakh names have been struck off for migration, duplication or death. Another 1.26 crore people whose names are on the draft list have been issued verification hearing notices because of "logical discrepancies" or their entries not being mapped with the 2002 electoral rolls when the last SIR happened. Of that number, around 60 lakh are yet to be heard.
Will Mamata Banerjee's Supreme Court appearance make their lives any easier? Or merely extend their struggle to be recognised as valid voters? The final draft roll is supposed to be out on February 14. But indications from the election commission are that the date could be extended.
Questions for Mamata
It's not as if the Supreme Court did not have questions for Mamata Banerjee or the Election Commission did not challenge her claims. Among the bones of contention were the "logical discrepancy" list and the appointment of over 8000 micro-observers by the EC from outside the state.
What could get you into the "logical discrepancy" list, among other things, is how you spell your name. For example, if one Mr Dutta spells his name with a "u" and his son with an "a", as in Datta, the son may have to explain why. Fact is, in West Bengal, Dutta with an "a" or a "u" are both acceptable, just as Bandopadhyay and Banerjee, Chatterjee and Chattopadhyay etc are interchangeable. Their spellings, too, vary and the permutations are endless.
The Supreme Court’s suggestion was to deploy a team of officers from West Bengal who understand these nuances and who, in consultation with EC officials, could clear such needless confusion. The EC lawyer claimed the state government did not allot officials the EC had requested which is why the EC had to appoint micro-observers from outside the state. Mamata Banerjee complained these micro-observers had no statutory authority but were taking the final call on who to delete or retain in voter lists.
The Supreme Court will hear the case again on February 9. Mamata Banerjee, now back in Kolkata, is most likely to return to Delhi on Monday for her second appearance in the top court.
Flying solo
While Mamata Banerjee's party, the TMC, is jubilant about her legal avatar and the positive impact they are sure it will have on voters across West Bengal, what could be cause for concern is she seems to be flying solo.
Parliament is in session, all MPs and party leaders are in the capital but none have been seen by her side. Not even Arvind Kejriwal of the AAP who was a regular visitor whenever Mamata Banerjee was in Delhi.
Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party did visit Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata recently and lauded her as the strongest challenger to the BJP. In Delhi today, he did make some equally flattering comments about her court appearance. But there was little else.
The issue of "using" SIR for "vote chori" was first raised by Rahul Gandhi before the Bihar elections. His "exposes" on alleged poll frauds in Maharashtra and Haryana followed. Logically, he should have joined Mamata Banerjee in her mega battle on the issue. But no sign of that.
When she was in court, he got caught up in the "traitor" controversy. The TMC-INC ties seem frosty currently. Asked recently about chances of an alliance with the Congress in the West Bengal polls, Mamata Banerjee firmly dismissed the possibility.
Winning the West Bengal Assembly elections is the West Bengal Chief Minister's single-minded focus. Flying solo is a small price to pay. After her Supreme Court foray, she seems to be on a good wicket and she plans to stay on it.
Her appearance in court today is already paying rich dividends. The TMC is celebrating and in some quarters, Mamata Banerjee is already being hailed as the "People’s Lawyer". Her repeat appearance in court on Monday could solidify the lead.