Jyotiprasad Chatterjee and Suprio Basu
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- June 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780198099178
- eISBN:
- 9780199082988
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198099178.003.0013
- Subject:
- Political Science, Indian Politics
The political scene of West Bengal has witnessed a distinct wave of Paribartan (change) since the closing period of the last decade. Beginning with the 15th Lok Sabha Election 2009 followed by the ...
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The political scene of West Bengal has witnessed a distinct wave of Paribartan (change) since the closing period of the last decade. Beginning with the 15th Lok Sabha Election 2009 followed by the state Assembly Election in 2011, the gradual ascendance of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) in the political centre stage of West Bengal has ended the more than thirty years of continued rule of the Left Front (LF) spearheaded by the Communist Party of India (Marxist). This chapter attempts to analyse the socio-political determinants of such a turnaround, exploring the social base of the LF and scrutinizing the policies of the LF government. The analysis shows that the LF, increasingly detached from its ideological standpoint, has undertaken certain policies which have contributed to the erosion of its much proclaimed social constituency. Finally, an effort has been made to locate the possible implications and concerns for democracy and democratic institutions in India.Less
The political scene of West Bengal has witnessed a distinct wave of Paribartan (change) since the closing period of the last decade. Beginning with the 15th Lok Sabha Election 2009 followed by the state Assembly Election in 2011, the gradual ascendance of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) in the political centre stage of West Bengal has ended the more than thirty years of continued rule of the Left Front (LF) spearheaded by the Communist Party of India (Marxist). This chapter attempts to analyse the socio-political determinants of such a turnaround, exploring the social base of the LF and scrutinizing the policies of the LF government. The analysis shows that the LF, increasingly detached from its ideological standpoint, has undertaken certain policies which have contributed to the erosion of its much proclaimed social constituency. Finally, an effort has been made to locate the possible implications and concerns for democracy and democratic institutions in India.
