WEST BENGAL CHIEF MINISTER BUDDHADEB BHATTACHARJEE FACES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CALCUTTA 000244 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV EIND EINV SOCI IN SUBJECT: WEST BENGAL CHIEF MINISTER BUDDHADEB BHATTACHARJEE FACES CRITICISM FROM HIS PARTY REF: CALCUTTA 00195 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: In the April-May West Bengal (WB) state assembly elections, the Left Front emerged victorious for the seventh consecutive time with an overwhelming 235 out of 294 seats. The Communist Party of India - Marxist (CPM) under the leadership of Chief Minister (CM) Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee consolidated its position within its Left Front alliance by achieving an outright majority of seats on its own. Contributing to the Left's success was its highly fragmented opposition, the CPM's organizational strength, and strong popular approval of the economic reforms initiated in recent years by CM Bhattacharjee (Reftel). The election results appeared to be strong mandate for Bhattcharjee's policies and only a few days into his new government, he was able to announce significant new investments. However, Bhattacharjee's party and Left allies appear intent on undercutting him. Bhattacharjee was unable to choose his own Cabinet Ministers, with some figures like controversial Transport Minister Subhas Chakrabarty reportedly returning at the insistence of former CM and nonagenarian Jyoti Basu. State CPM General Secretary Biman Basu publicly criticized the media for what he characterized as "going overboard on projecting Brand Buddha." In ConGen's May 25 meeting with CM Bhatacharjee, the CM enthusiastically described his plans for seeking investment but refused to comment on support from his party for his economic reform efforts. The pre-election solidarity of the Left Front and its leadership appears to be cracking in the face of growing irritation with CM Bhattacharjee's strong personal popularity and his successes at attracting investment. End Summary. ¶2. (U) The May 11 results of West Bengal's 294-seat state legislative assembly elections brought a landslide victory for the CPM and its Left allies. The Left Front won 235 seats and returned to power for the seventh consecutive term since 1977. The dominant CPM won 176 seats on its own, giving it a clear majority in the legislature, and making it less dependent on its Front partners. The failure of opposition parties, the Congress (Congress),the Trinamul Congress (Trinamul) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),to create a grand alliance split the anti-Left vote. Factional feuds in the Congress and the weak organization of Trinamul, under the erratic leadership of Member of Parliament Mamata Banerjee, exacerbated the opposition's divisions. The Congress' dismal performance prompted Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee to resign from his post as State Congress President. ¶3. (U) The support for the Left extended from rural to urban populations and even cut across class lines. CM Bhattacharjee's economic reform policies, efforts at industrialization and wooing of investments over the past five years enabled the Left to expand its support base. After announcement of the election results, the CM identified three basic tasks for his new government: to maintain the achievements in agriculture, sustain the industrialization process, attract more investment, and to encourage economic development to help those below the poverty line. ¶4. (U) In just the first few days of his new government, Bhattacharjee saw tangible results in his efforts to attract investment. On the day of the final vote count, Tata CEO Ratan Tata announced his intention to established a USD 220 million Tata Motors factory in West Bengal to manufacture Tata's planned one lakh rupee (USD 2,200) car for India's growing middle class. Tata's announcement was quickly followed by Videocon CEO Venugopal Dhoot announcing his company's intention to invest USD 200 million to set up a LCD monitor factory and a 4 million sq/ft IT park. Dhoot told the media after a meeting with the CM, "Across all our facilities, we want to create 25,000 jobs in the state in the next 2-3 years." Chief Secretary Amit Kiran Deb and Commerce and Industry Secretary Sabyasachi Sen will go to the United States on June 4 to prepare a possible visit by the CM. The two Secretaries will travel to New York City, White Springs, West Virginia and Washington, D.C. They will seek infrastructure investment in New York, meet with chemical and petro-chemical companies in West Virginia and the National Association of Manufacturers in Washington, D.C. CALCUTTA 00000244 002 OF 002 ¶5. (SBU) However, Bhattacharjee's success seems to be breeding resentment within his party. He was unable to influence the selection of some of his key cabinet members. Former WB CM and Politburo Member Jyoti Basu appeared to have forced the retention of Transport Minister Subhas Chakrabarty and Finance Minster Dr. Asim Dasgupta, among others. Chakrabarty's staying on was seen as a setback for the CM while he is trying to improve the state's infrastructure, as Chakrabarty is perceived as corrupt, incompetent and he had won his constituency with just a slim margin. However, he is a Basu favorite. On May 26 Basu was openly critical of CM Bhattacharjee, claiming that the CM poorly handled the Tata representatives' recent visit to the site of the propose car factory. Local villagers blocked the vehicles of the Tata and state government officials at the site in Singur to protest the possible sale of their land for the factory. Basu told the media that he upbraided the Chief Minister for the demonstration, "I asked Buddha why proper ground work was not done before the visit." Other unhappy Left Front partners are calling for an emergency meeting on May 29 to discuss the issue of converting agricultural land to industrial projects. WB CPM General Secretary Biman Basu also piled-on and strongly criticized the media's excessive adulation of the CM saying in a May 26 press conference, "The media has gone overboard in projecting 'Brand Buddha.'" CPM mouthpiece "Ganashakti" has carried articles claiming that the Left's electoral victory results from the party's ideology and work, implying that 'Brand Buddha' should not get the entire credit. "The Asian Age" reported on May 27 that "Party insiders said that Alimuddin Street (CPM headquarters) satraps felt that the media's focus on the Chief Minister may prove detrimental for the party in the future." ¶6. (SBU) On May 25, ConGen met CM Bhattacharya to congratulate him on his success in the elections. The Chief Minister spoke enthusiastically of his recent efforts in attracting investment and his interest in developing petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and infrastructure projects in the state. When asked whether he intended to visit the U.S., Bhattacharjee said he would visit only when he had assurance of some concrete investments and mentioned that he has been in contact with former Ambassador Frank Wisner. However, when ConGen asked whether the CM's work was supported by his party, he became unresponsive and quickly ended the meeting. ¶7. (SBU) Comment: The public consensus in West Bengal is that the CPM and Left Front's success in the assembly election is directly attributable to CM Bhattacharjee. Announcements by Tata, Videocon and others of plans to invest in the state because of the CM's efforts only reinforce this impression. However, instead of being praised by his party and allies, CM Bhattacharjee is experiencing the principle that success breeds resentment and resentment breeds hate. Rather than receiving a clear mandate from the election results, the CM's victory may serve to isolate him from his party and create resistance to his initiatives. JARDINE