How Trinamool Congress Maintains Power in West Bengal

Jha, Debjit, et al. ‘Prosperity or Decay? ‘Political Stability in West Bengal’, Economic and Political Weekly, Volume 57, Issue No. 25, June 18, 2022

The All India Trinamool Congress (AITMC) or popularly known as Trinamool Congress (TMC) continues its rule in West Bengal with a higher vote share in 2021 as compared to the 2016 assembly elections. Debjit Jha in his article ‘Prosperity or Decay? Political stability in West Bengal’ draws attention to the strategies used by the party to maintain its influence among the people. He explains how the concept of political society plays an important role in the cessation of such power and how a complex relationship based on interdependence is created to secure the party’s vote share.

priority to rural economy

The paper begins by explaining how West Bengal’s per capita income growth rate during 2011-19 (Trinamool government) was not only below the growth rate of the previous decades of Left-led rule, but also below the national average. . Looking at the sectors of agriculture, industry and service, it further pointed out that agriculture had grown by 3.3% as compared to 1.6% in India, the other two sectors that generate higher incomes and form the engines of the modern economy, growth. showed a decline in , This implies paucity of resources to fund the welfare schemes implemented by the state during this period.

Nevertheless, driven by expenditure on agricultural development and social welfare schemes, rural per capita expenditure increased while the poverty level in the state declined sharply. The data also revealed that the state’s unemployment rate was lower than the national average in both rural and urban areas. Evidence of the state’s strategy to redirect plans to agriculture and rural development shows how the current model of development benefited the rural sector and the agricultural sector at the expense of the urban and industry/service sectors. Despite the modest amount to be spent on the schemes, the government ensured that it met the needs of the rural crowd, which constitutes 70% of the population, which is the majority.

political society

The success of welfare schemes depends on their effective implementation and for this the formation of cadre organizations that distribute and deal with any grievances related to the schemes becomes extremely important. The role of the informal sector in building what Partha Chatterjee describes as a political society becomes important for understanding the process of cadre formation and the dependence of people on welfare schemes.

Political society constitutes of people who depend on the existing political party for their daily life. This paper focuses on people from rural areas who have low and uncertain sources of income as most of them depend on agriculture for their survival. They depend on Panchayats and political parties for assistance in subsidized seeds, fertilisers, agricultural insurance etc. This is especially the case when the drivers of growth do not provide many income opportunities.

During the 34 years of Left rule in West Bengal, political, as well as socio-cultural aspects of the society were associated with the party. Strong ideologies and pro-poor policies such as redistribution of land were an important factor in securing the loyalty of the people and what was called ‘party society’, as described by Dwaipayana Bhattacharya in his paper, “Controls and Clans”: The Changing Party Society of Rural West Bengal”. Nevertheless, the lack of productive investment in agriculture after redistribution, among other reasons, led to the transition of power and control in West Bengal.

In the absence of such a strong ideology or political organization or sufficient funds for welfare schemes, Trinamool Congress had to come up with innovative strategies to maintain the political society and its popularity.

‘Cutting Money’ Schemes

The experience of the Left regime shows how the party organizations get blamed when there is corruption in the implementation of welfare schemes. To avoid such problems, the Trinamool government has appointed external agencies to redistribute welfare schemes that are paid through rent or commission. Since the funds used for the schemes are rationed, the government found ways to ensure that the fee/commission was paid by the beneficiaries of the schemes themselves.

The two instruments that have been used to collect rent are popularly known as “syndicate” and “cut money”. Evidence shows that the rent received is shared between the local and central leaders of the ruling political party. Syndicate is a term used for an organized corruption and extortion racket formed by a small group of unemployed youth affiliated with a political party, which primarily controls a geographical area and in the construction and construction areas of urban West Bengal. Works. A symbiotic relationship is formed between the syndicate and the government, in which the syndicate continues its illegal activities with government patronage and the government in return takes a portion of the money generated by the syndicate as well as their muscle power to oppress the opposition electorate. takes.

In rural areas, ‘cutting money’ – an informal commission charged by local leaders from the beneficiaries of government schemes – ensures funding for outside agencies. The lack of proper understanding of plans and the ‘take it or leave it’ attitude of politicians in a state where economic opportunities are scarce leads people to pay for benefits and still be totally towards the government. Doesn’t deviate from the outside agencies as being held responsible.

Such methods have different impacts on rural and urban areas. Syndicates cause a drop in economic activity because of their way of extorting money from small businessmen and investors. On the other hand, deducting money generates rent, which also means that the more welfare schemes, the higher the rent generation. Thus in order to collect more rent, more government schemes and policies are passed which increase the economic development of the area.

The notion that growth in the economy leads to an increase in the popularity of the ruling party is contested through the tactics used by the Trinamool government. While economic agents in an unequal society may have conflicting interests, the ruling party prefers to serve the lower-income group in order to gain popularity among the majority. This may not result in real development as the focus of the state is on a specific need rather than on overall development. Moreover, resource mobilization through rent seeking encourages the cadre to work for the existing interests as their livelihood depends on it. This results in fear-delusion and violence in the state when there is public discontent over partisanship, deprivation, poor governance and lack of transparency.

While the paper goes into depth on the strategies used by the current party to maintain its power in West Bengal with the use of political parties, it does not explain its socio-cultural role which is an important aspect of party society. was what helped the Left regime maintain its power for more than three decades.