Mamata crowned CM again, but challenges lie ahead

At a glittering swearing-in ceremony, Mamata Banerjee today took the oath for the second consecutive term as Chief Minister of West Bengal, along with 42 cabinet ministers.

 

The mood along the entire stretch of Red Road was festive, as thousands of people were seen thronging from different corners to witness the public swearing-in ceremony of Didi. Huge cut-outs of Mamata Banerjee were installed in the venue. More than 25,000 guests witnessed the historic oath-taking ceremony of a non-Left party for the second consecutive time.

 

Clad in a white saree, Mamata Banerjee arrived at the dais sharp at 12.45 and took oath a few minutes later. 

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In a first, the ceremony was held at the iconic Red Road, instead of Raj Bhavan. West Bengal governor Keshari Nath Tripathi administered the oath. The ceremony witnessed a host of high profile personalities from across the political spectrum including Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, UP CM Akhilesh Yadav, and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal attending the ceremony. Union ministers Arun Jaitley and Babul Supriya, RJD and former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah were also present at the function. Among international guests, Prime Minister of Bhutan, T S Hering Tobgay the industry minister of Bangladesh were also there, 

 

Reliance industries chairman Mukesh Ambani was also present along with other industrialists.  

 

However, the local unit of the BJP and CPM-Congress alliance boycotted the function to protest against the alleged attack on their supporters by Trinamool Congress (TMC) activists after the recently concluded Assembly polls.    

Mamata Banerjee dropped ten ministers of her previous cabinet and inducted in 18 new faces. In a move which is likely to draw criticism, Mamata has re-inducted ministers who were allegedly involved in Narda sting operation.

 

In the recently concluded polls, Mamata Banerjee’s TMC registered a big win as the party bagged 211 out of 294 Assembly seats. At the same time, the 2016 Assembly polls were the toughest election for the firebrand leader had ever faced in her political career.

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During her first stint as CM, Mamata had to face a lot of criticism as some of her party leaders were allegedly involved in different corruption charges, including allegations of links in Sarada multi-crore chit fund scam and Narada sting operation in which Trinamool Congress leaders were seen accepting bribes.     

 

In order to tide over the negative image and win votes, Mamata was appealing to the voters with practically folded hands. Mamata single-handedly attended as many as 178 rallies.

 

What lies ahead?

 

For Mamata, her second stint would be challenging as she needs to establish that there is no alternative to TMC rule in West Bengal. She would also need to take action against those ministers and party men whose names have been dragged in some scams and other corruption charges.

 

Within her party, she needs to put an end to internal feuds and factions. She has already cautioned the party leaders to immediately stop such infighting within the party.

 

In her first tenure, the 61–year-old leader had failed miserably to woo investors in Bengal. The feisty leader would now need to build an image of industry-friendly state to attract more investments.

 

During her five-year rule Mamata has brought changes but more cosmetic changes in nature such as instaling street lights only in few stretches of Kolkata and preparing a land bank from where the industry houses can take land for setting up industries.

 

On the sensitive issue of land acquisition, the CM is against taking land from farmers for setting up industries. And thanks to her populist promises the West Bengal government has incurred huge debt. Things have not moved decisively on Infosys' multi-crore rupees project in Rajarhat. The IT-giant has been seeking SEZ status but Banerjee has so far remained non-committal.

 

 

Now the coming days will witness whether Mamata Banerjee’s government will change her announced industrial policy or she will be liberal to woo industry houses.