Not even the BJP expected its thumping victory in West Bengal. But pleasantly surprised, they scampered off to get some ministers and supporting rhetoric in place. The windfall didn’t stop there, all their obstacles started vanishing by themselves. The BJP found itself in a rose-tinted Sooraj Barjatya film, the script written by their very own Ram and Syam(aprasad) Mookerjee.

While people kept waiting for retaliation from the ‘street fighter’, the miracle-maker Mamata Banerjee, she acted like Ronaldo in a recent World Cup match — concentrating on being invisible.

The Left Front is elated. It won a seat all by itself and another through an ally. It will probably not stop gloating for another five years. It’s almost like breaking into a victory lap after managing to score 4 in maths; just 96 more and it’d be ‘wow!’.

The BJP juggernaut is firing on all cylinders. We vaguely once heard somewhere that a thriving Opposition is essential for a healthy democracy. But no ruling party ever cares for democracy, and even if the prospect of one-party rule seems preposterous, that has been the scenario in Bengal for several decades.

The Left Front had practically no Opposition for most of its 34-year rule. The Congress and later the TMC served as cardboard Opposition, there only to be accused and ridiculed. For longer than one can remember, nobody thought there would ever be a Bengal that wasn’t ruled by Communists, until the Left leaders got too complacent and the cadre turned brutal.

TMC too had a practically Opposition-free run for 15 years when the Congress was non-existent, the CPI(M) was clownish and the BJP was deemed impossible. So, the people of Bengal are no strangers to one-party rule. In fact, they love it. They don’t demand change, until they........

© National Herald