Is Mamata Banerjee’s stewardship of the railway ministry merely a stop-gap before she takes her bigger and more important test — the 2011 assembly elections in West Bengal?
There is strong speculation in various circles that the Trinamool Congress chief may remain at the helm of the railways only till 2011. The idea has gained acceptance mostly because Mamata has been reiterating her priority after the polls — that ruling her state is more important than heading a central ministry.
On Sunday evening, the Trinamool chief added more fuel to the fire. “Anything can happen in two years. Our party, the electorate and the coalition will decide... we’ll see when the situation arises,” she told a language TV channel when asked about her plans for 2011. However, she tempered her words by adding, “Aamra sarkar chherey jaabo na (we will not leave the government).”
Whatever her feelings about remaining with the UPA, one thing is very clear. Nothing holds greater appeal than occupying the CM’s chair at Writer’s Buildings, the seat of power in Bengal, and all of her actions reflect that desire. So much so, that she said recently that she’d rather prefer people calling her Mamatadi than “rail minister”.
Besides, she’s not one who will hesitate to tell off the UPA when if she doesn’t agree with its policies. For example, Mamata has already warned that her party will go on a protest if the government raises the prices of petro products. That’s because she believes lowering prices before the elections and raising them later does not reflect “transparency”.
