Kolkata: It is West Bengal after 34years of CPI (M) rule. Fort St. William is in tatter, with Left Front shot out of ballot box. Kerala also shares the fate for Karat’s men. Bengal is in change now, after it went through a turmoil, violent actions, fleeing of industries and capital, no name of arts-stage, screen and paintings. Old hopes had crashes, but new expectations are in the air from a 52-year old firebrand woman, Mamatha Didi (Bannerjee) who resigned as Railways minister to become Chief Minister at home state. For her, a home-coming after 34 years of Red Rule was more inviting than staying on a throne in Delhi as railway Minister, but she kept the portfolio reserved for a Trinamool Congress MP, and is taking Congress MLAs in Bengal as ministers in her small cabinet.
On Friday (May 20) afternoon she takes oath of secrecy as CM of Bengal, on the 150th birthday of Ravindranath Tagore, being celebrated this week. She is incidentally the first female (woman) CM of her state. It was her dream realized historically after a lonely fight. There are 36 Trinmool Congress ministers and 7 Congress ministers in her “small” cabinet of 43 (15%). The state Governor M.K Narayanan gave the oath of power to her. Her former colleagues, P. Chidambram, Pranab Mukherjee, A.K Antony were there among the dignitaries. Even the former CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and leaders of Left Front also graced the occasion.
Partho Chatterjee has become the deputy leader of the ruling legislature party. Trinamool originated in 1998 when Mamta broke from Congress, but none from her party had visited the Palm Avenue residence of CPI (M) chief minister, but Partho did sow now. CPI (M) secretary Prem Bose, CPI state secretary Manju Kumar Majumdar, RSP leader Kshithi Goswamy and Forward Bloc secretary Ashok Ghosh attended too.
Mamata, having resigned from Delhi UPA cabinet, now entirely focused on her dear state West Bengal. She wears handloom sarees woven from Udupi town on the west coast.