CM smiles, but fears lurk

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Mamata with Bimal Gurung in Richmond Hill, a government guesthouse in Darjeeling, on Tuesday. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya Darjeeling, May 14: A wide grin playing on her lips, chief minister Mamata Banerjee welcomed today's Calcutta High Court verdict on the panchayat polls and iterated her promise that the elections would be held on time. "The high court verdict is a welcome step. For two years, we have been trying to conduct the panchayat polls. We wanted the polls to be brought forward. It is extremely hot now and heavy rain will follow. But the court has said so and we will hold the polls on time," Mamata said at Bagdogra airport before leaving for Darjeeling for a four-day visit. The chief minister, who has been under pressure in the aftermath of the Saradha default crisis, sounded relieved but several Trinamul leadersThe Telegraph spoke to felt otherwise. With state election commission lawyer Samaraditya Pal saying late tonight that the panel would take "appropriate steps", it was not clear whether the panchayat poll process could be completed by the July 15 deadline set by the high court. "I don't know whether the polls will be held on time…. But I am sure that if we have to face polls in June or July, we will be on a sticky wicket as the Saradha default crisis will haunt us," said a Trinamul insider. According to him, several other leaders feel the same as the default crisis has mainly affected the poorest of the poor and the minority community — core support bases of the party — in the districts. "A significant majority of those who have lost their life's savings are from the minority community and they want us to answer whether they will get back their money," the leader said. The biggest problem the Trinamul leaders fear the party will face in the districts is the perceived closeness of some prominent leaders with the Saradha Group and other such sham companies, some of which have also started defaulting on repayments. While Trinamul MP Kunal Ghosh has already been questioned by police in connection with the default crisis, names of several other senior party leaders, including all-India general secretary Mukul Roy, have cropped up in the past two to three weeks. Mamata has virtually given the clean chit to leaders seen as having links with the deposit-mobilising companies. "Usually, there is no single dominant factor in panchayat polls as local matters play a deciding role. But the default crisis has made things different this time. Villagers in East Midnapore and North Dinajpur, who have nothing in common otherwise, are victims of the crisis and are raising questions about the association of our leaders with the sham companies," a senior Trinamul MP said. He added that a "major worry" for the party was the pending PILs in the high court demanding a CBI probe into the Saradha default. "The Opposition parties will latch onto the opportunity if the investigation is handed over to the CBI. Besides, if some of our leaders are interrogated, it will be disastrous for us," said a Trinamul MLA from West Midnapore. According to him, the problems would not have cropped up had the chief minister accepted the poll panel's suggestions on the election phases and force deployment. "Then the polls would have been over by now. We were in a strong position and could have easily swept the polls, but the chief minister stuck to her stand. The default crisis is acquiring bigger proportions with each passing day," a Trinamul leader said. Another section in Trinamul feels that with the possibility of the elections being held soon, the party had got the chance to avoid further damage. "So far, we are dealing with one major sham company. If more such companies start collapsing, it will trigger a bigger crisis," said a Trinamul vice-president. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130515/jsp/bengal/story_16900561.jsp