Voodoo Cricket

"If you want to call it a jehad go ahead and write about it."
—West Bengal CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharya losing his cool when asked whether he would launch a crusade to get the re-elected Jagmohan Dalmiya out of the CAB.

or a soft-spoken, literature-loving, urbane person like West Bengal CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, intemperate outbursts, especially over petty issues, should be alien. That is why, when he poured vitriol on newly-elected Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) chief Jagmohan Dalmiya a few days ago, he caused widespread shock. The rage was inexplicable and uncharacteristic. But was it? Not if the CAB polls and Buddhadeb's opposition to Dalmiya are seen in the larger light of the CM's battle against what he calls "evil forces". The outburst, and the following events, are actually a footnote in the larger battle between the old-timers (led by veteran Jyoti Basu) and the young turks within the CPI(M) in West Bengal. A battle over Buddhadeb's policies, his rise to prominence and his style of functioning.

The CM has been receiving flak from all quarters, including his own party. CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat felt Buddhadeb's outburst was uncalled for. Jyoti Basu had earlier articulated the same view. Many in the party felt that the CM should have accepted the CAB election verdict with grace and not shown his displeasure and described it as a "victory of evil over good."

For Buddhadeb, Dalmiya epitomises the culture of corruption, cronyism and sloth that he believes marked his predecessor Jyoti Basu's tenure as CM. Dalmiya had, indeed, used his position to get close to the Basu regime and further his business interests. A big and prestigious project—the building of a 1,100-acre leather park to house 300 units—was awarded to his firm during Basu's time. His failure to complete the park in time and other controversies that dogged the project irked Buddhadeb. The new CM and Dalmiya could never see eye to eye. And when the wily Marwari ignored his diktat to step aside and not contest the CAB polls, Buddhadeb grew angrier.

Ultimately, what the CM couldn't stomach was Dalmiya's victory and, by extension, his own embarrassment over the defeat of Calcutta police commissioner Prasun Mukherjee who he had backed in the CAB elections. Hence, the outburst. But this is a simplistic explanation. That Buddhadeb would clash with his mentor (Basu) was imminent, especially as the latter didn't allow him a free hand to form his own council of ministers after the assembly polls in May this year. Buddhadeb was forced to retain Basu loyalists like sports minister Subhas Chakraborty. Also, he wasn't only forced to shift his own loyalists like former information technology minister Manab Mukherjee to less significant posts, but also induct a few hardliners he isn't comfortable with. Expectedly, the CM has been smarting from that humiliation.

There have also been many challenges since then to his policies and style of functioning. "Buddhadeb wants to chart an independent course. He does not want to take his party, Left Front partners like us and the cabinet into confidence. That can't be allowed. And so, there have been angry discussions and clashes in cabinet meetings in the recent past," a senior CPI leader told Outlook. Insiders say the CM has been challenged over policies and decisions in cabinet meetings in the recent past by his ministers, the latest being the verbal duel between him and public works minister Kshiti Goswami in a cabinet meeting over the acquisition of farm land to set up townships and industries.

The serious challenges and opposition he has had to face from his own flock over the last few months has also fuelled Buddhadeb's latent anger over ministry formation. What's worse, he sees those ranged against him as having Basu's backing. To be fair, Basu himself has obliquely and not-so-obliquely criticised Buddhadeb—and at times unfairly—on a few occasions in the past. "Buddhababu's anger isn't totally unjustified. He has been provoked on many occasions. Jyotibabu has stoked opposition to Buddhababu. Many people who oppose Buddhababu draw direct or indirect support and sustenance from Jyotibabu. It would have been in the fitness of things for Jyotibabu to wash his hands of all matters of governance after he bequeathed the CM's chair to Buddhababu," says a junior CPI(M) minister.

But, argues the Basu camp, the CM has been "working insidiously" to disown and dismantle the symbols of the Basu regime. And Dalmiya is one such symbol, perhaps the one Buddhadeb finds easiest to hate openly. His latest outburst rekindled memories of his resignation as information minister under Jyoti Basu in 1992 after describing the Basu ministry as a "cabinet of thieves". "He has a history of juvenile rage and outbursts and saying things he regrets later. These are not things a responsible person should do," said Kshiti Goswami, who is of the RSP.

But what still remains unexplained is why he asked Dalmiya to step aside. According to a section of the CPI(M) leadership, Buddhadeb and Sitaram Yechury met BCCI chief Sharad Pawar. The CM is said to have understood from his interaction with Pawar that if Dalmiya is removed from the CAB, Sourav Ganguly may find a place in the Indian team. "A few people close to the CM like (urban development minister) Ashok Bhattacharya explained to Buddhababu that if he can get Sourav back into the team, he would become a hero to Bengalis. Buddhababu fell for this," said a CPI(M) state committee member.

But whatever the rationale behind Buddhadeb's actions and statements, it is clear that he'll be censured at the CPI(M)'s next state secretariat meeting. He will be hard put to defend his description of Dalmiya as part of "evil forces". "What are the evil forces he is talking of? Who are they? Let him take names," challenged Subhas Chakraborty. Non-CPI(M) ministers like Kshiti Goswami, irrigation minister Nandagopal Bhattacharjee (of the CPI) and cooperation minister Rabindra Ghosh (Forward Bloc) too have jumped into the fray to criticise the CM. Many others are waiting their turn.

In the public arena, the episode has damaged the CM's profile. Always praised for his civility, the Dalmiya incident seems to have robbed Buddhadeb of some of that image. Also, there are allegations that the state machinery was misused to get votes for Prasun Mukherjee in the CAB polls. Whether there is any truth in all this is, of course, a matter of conjecture. But his detractors see the present controversy as an opportunity to undermine the CM and his otherwise commendable track record.