West Bengal’s former Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya will be remembered as a leader who failed to convince voters about his vision for the state’s economic transformation and presided over the end of the Left Front’s 34-year rule. History will also remember him as one of the last iconic leaders of a bygone era of communism in the state.
As Mamata Banerjee struggles to find solutions to the growing pressure of unemployment and rising aspirations of a new generation, she is discovering that her politics is up against the glimpse of hope that came before. Even 13 years after the CPI(M)-led Left Front’s ouster, Buddhadev is still considered a visionary leader who had the drive to attempt a makeover of the industrially-stagnant state by bringing in new companies and stemming the outflow of talent.
But that is not only how Bhattacharya is remembered. Like Morpheus, he has bequeathed a dream that hovers on the edge of Bengali consciousness. His legacy is the possibility that by some alchemy, the potential of the state’s human and natural resources could be combined to make West Bengal great again.
Nostalgia about Kolkata’s past and Bengal’s wealth is integral to how Bengalis see themselves. In this milieu, Buddhadev’s slogan “Do it now” ignited their imagination for a while by offering hope for a vibrant future. Combined with his quintessential bhadralok persona—including his love for Bengali and world literature, theatre and films, his politeness and his arrogance—Bhattacharya will continue to be an icon for every Bengali, regardless of his or her political preference.
Not for a moment will any Bengali think that Bhattacharya sold out to the seduction of capitalism even when he impatiently and obsessively pursued capital in India and across the world. In his memoir Phire Dekha (Looking Back), Bhattacharya explained his metamorphosis from puritan communist to a pragmatic chief minister: “As I embarked on the search for capital for investment in West Bengal’s dream of a new industrial future, I worked hard to understand the changes that capitalism had undergone over the past 300 years in order to sustain its dominance over the world economy. China had embraced capitalism for its own purposes.”
Armed with his resolve—“Having plunged in, we had to learn to swim to reach the shore”—Bhattacharya signed up with Tata Motors to set up a low-cost Nano car factory in Singur on National Highway 2 in 2006, immediately after he won his second term with a massive mandate of 235 seats out of the state assembly’s 294. The mandate blinded him to the deep-rooted distrust of capitalists among Bengalis. He failed to convince his own party’s leaders, cadres and supporters that giving up land, even fertile agricultural land, for industry would create wealth and opportunity for a larger number of people.
Banerjee stormed into the breach that had opened up within the CPI(M), and between the party and its voter base. A new chapter in the history of political turbulence in West Bengal was written at Bhattacharya’s expense. Singur and Nandigram became part of modern India’s lexicon of political violence and popular resistance, of governance failure and economic collapse.
Bhattacharya’s dream of making West Bengal great again was not wholly his own. It was pursued by his predecessor Jyoti Basu, though far less aggressively. The New Industrial Policy of 1994 that set the stage was Basu’s initiative. Having made slow progress till he retired in 2000, Basu handed over the task to Bhattacharya.
Buddhadev started out as a student leader. He was a founder member of the Democratic Youth Federation of India. In 1977, he became the information and culture minister in Jyoti Basu’s first cabinet when he was 33 years old. In 1987, he became a minister for the second time. This was when he built the Nandan film complex, a Kolkata landmark and an institution that screened the best of Indian and world cinema. This was where Bhattacharya would spend his time after work till he became chief minister.
By 1997, Bhattacharya knew he would have to step into Basu’s shoes. He was groomed first as the police minister and then as a deputy chief minister. Between 1997 and 2006, Bhattacharya arrived at several conclusions about how West Bengal’s future should be shaped. These set him on a collision course with powerful interests like trade unions, government employee unions and the kisan front within the Left Front.
After the CPI(M)’s stunning defeat in 2011 and his own defeat from the Jadavpur constituency, Bhattacharya withdrew from the limelight for a while. He was diligent in attending party meetings till his health declined and he resigned from the politburo. House-bound by ill health, Bhattacharya, an ardent communist and faithful party man, distanced himself from day-to-day matters. But his shadow never faded over the state’s political and intellectual landscape.
Shikha Mukerjee
Journalist, Columnist