True. Mamata is a great leader who needs to be cultivated..
THE INDIA CABLES
U.S. government should ‘continue to cultivate' Mamata
Suresh Nambath
CHENNAI:, APRIL 21, 2011 03:36 IST
UPDATED: SEPTEMBER 30, 2016 23:17 IST
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- >230353: unclassified ) sent under the name of Consul General Beth A. Payne. “Post recommends USG officials continue to cultivate Banerjee, who has not yet visited the United States, in her current capacity as Railways Minister and the likely next Chief Minister of West Bengal.”
However, the Consulate remained unsure whether Ms. Banerjee had really made the transition from firebrand to able administrator.
The cable, accessed by The Hindu through WikiLeaks, offers this interesting assessment: “Skepticism remains whether Banerjee's makeover truly represents a new product — cooler, more level-headed, and willing to accept outside advice — or simply the season's new political makeup. Consensus exists that she is conscientiously trying to transform her image from political maverick and firebrand to a woman ready, able and willing to lead India's fourth most populous state.”
The Kolkata Consulate cable, headlined “Trinamool's Mamata Banerjee: from oppositional street fighter to West Bengal Chief Minister-in-waiting,” described how Ms. Banerjee sought to re-brand herself. “Since the May 2009 parliamentary elections elevated West Bengal's regional party, All India Trinamool Congress, from obscurity to the second largest constituent party in the United Progressive Alliance, its leader, Mamata Banerjee, has conscientiously sought to re-brand herself as West Bengal's Chief Minister-in- waiting. She is using the considerable administrative resources at her disposal as Railway's Minister, political resources as leader of the state opposition party, and personal resources to initiate this transformation. Supporters and critics acknowledge the new image, but question whether it is indeed a new product, or simply new packaging.”
The cable noted that with the backing of a large parliamentary constituency and allied with the ruling Congress party, “Banerjee's Trinamool is well placed to win the 2011 state assembly elections if she can continue along her current path of self-restraint and avoid making any mistakes along the way.”
The Kolkata Consulate appears to have been impressed with Ms. Banerjee's efforts to woo business, notwithstanding the “anti-industry” label she acquired after opposing land acquisition in Singur and Nandigram.
Under a section, “Mamata Courts Industry and Vice Versa,” the cable reported how Ms. Banerjee “assiduously courted Kolkata's business community through outreach and appointment of respected business advisors” to combat her perceived ‘anti-industry' label. “While the business community has not forgiven her for driving Tata Motors small car project out of the state, they are warming up to her, as they too see which way the winds are blowing.”
In a segment titled “Change That West Bengal Can Believe In,” echoing President Barack Obama's “Change we can believe in” election campaign of 2008, the cable said Ms. Banerjee was “inspiring the faithful, and convincing the agnostic, that the Communist Party of India — Marxist's 33 year-uninterrupted rule of West Bengal is set to end.” Describing her as the most popular politician in the State, the Consulate cable added that Ms. Banerjee was widely viewed as the “only one that can lead the charge for change.”
(This article is a part of the series "The India Cables" based on the US diplomatic cables accessed by The Hindu via Wikileaks.)
- http://www.thehindu.com/news/the-in...tinue-to-cultivate-Mamata/article14691507.ece
THE CABLES
230353: From oppositional street fighter to West Bengal chief minister-in-waiting
APRIL 21, 2011 01:38 IST
UPDATED: SEPTEMBER 27, 2016 01:41 IST
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Backed by a large parliamentary constituency and allied with the ruling Congress party, Banerjee's Trinamool is well placed to win the 2011 state assembly elections if she can continue along her current path of self-restraint and avoid making any mistakes along the way.
230353 10/20/2009 6:11:00 AM 09KOLKATA276 Consulate Kolkata UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY 09KOLKATA79 VZCZCXRO4183RR RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHNEHDE RUEHCI #0276/01 2930611ZNR UUUUU ZZHR 200611Z OCT 09FM AMCONSUL KOLKATATO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2475INFO RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 2357RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 0997RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 1000RUEHNEH/AMCONSUL HYDERABAD 0063RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDCRHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DCRUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 0640RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 3075
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KOLKATA 000276
SENSITIVE SIPDIS
DEPT FOR SCA/INSB (TITUS)
E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV, PREL, ECON, IN
SUBJECT: TRINAMOOL'S MAMATA BANERJEE: FROM OPPOSITIONAL STREET FIGHTER TO WEST BENGAL CHIEF MINISTER-IN-WAITING
REF: KOLKATA 79
1. (SBU) Summary: Since the May 2009 parliamentary elections elevated West Bengal's regional party, All India Trinamool Congress, from obscurity to the second largest constituent party in the United Progressive Alliance, its leader, Mamata Banerjee, has conscientiously sought to re-brand herself as West Bengal's Chief Minister-in-Waiting. She is using the considerable administrative resources at her disposal as Railway's Minister, political resources as leader of the state opposition party, and personal resources to initiate this transformation. Supporters and critics acknowledge the new image, but question whether it is indeed a new product, or simply new packaging. Backed by a large parliamentary constituency and allied with the ruling Congress party, Banerjee's Trinamool is well placed to win the 2011 state assembly elections if she can continue along her current path of self-restraint and avoid making any mistakes along the way.
A Railway's Minister's Purse for West Bengal
2. (SBU) As India's Railways Minister, Banerjee has promised a large share of the nation's "railway rupees" to her home state of West Bengal with a railways budget that is both populist - emphasizing subsidized passenger fairs - and pragmatic - inviting public/private partnerships in new facilities. She has maintained her opposition to forcible land acquisition - a position that propelled her party into parliament - but invited development on the railway-owned land. Critics have expressed concern over the overwhelming focus on passenger vice freight traffic, but understand the electoral motivations of her actions.
Change That West Bengal Can Believe In
3. (SBU) As leader of the largest opposition party in the state, Banerjee is inspiring the faithful, and convincing the agnostic, that the Communist Party of India - Marxist (CPI-M)'s 33 year-uninterrupted rule of West Bengal is set to end. Her July 21 rally in the heart of Kolkata, with crowds estimated up to half a million, was this summer's largest political demonstration and dwarfed the CPI-M's August 31 timid and lackluster response. She is currently the most popular politician in the state and is widely viewed as the only one that can lead the charge for change.
Mamata Courts Industry and Vice Versa
4. (SBU) Banerjee has assiduously courted Kolkata's business community through outreach and appointment of respected business advisors to combat her perceived "anti-industry" label. Her August 22 interactive session with West Bengal's business leaders drew wide applause and drove home the message that business should as a matter of practice reach out to today's opposition for a bipartisan consensus, which, in this case, was well on its way to becoming tomorrow's government. While the business community has not forgiven her for driving Tata Motors small car project out of the state, they are warming up to her, as they too, see which way the winds are blowing.
Trinamool and Congress: Strategic and Tactical Allies
5. (SBU) According to parliamentarian Keshav Rao, Congress' general secretary for West Bengal, his party decided to ally with Trinamool in order to defeat CPI-M in West Bengal and diminish its significance as a national party or convener of a possible third political front. At the same time, Trinamool needs Congress' support to win in West Bengal and avoid a
KOLKATA 00000276 002 OF 002
triangulation of the anti-CPI-M vote. Trinamool also enjoys the legitimacy and ministerial power that a tie-up with the national partner confers. Both Trinamool and Congress politicians expect the tie-up to last through the 2011 state assembly elections.
Comment
6. (SBU) Skepticism remains whether Banerjee's makeover truly represents a new product - cooler, more level-headed, and willing to accept outside advice - or simply the season's new political makeup. Consensus exists that she is conscientiously trying to transform her image from political maverick and firebrand to a woman ready, able and willing to lead India's fourth most populous state. Her party's public rhetoric, devoid of any anti-Americanism, and private outreach to post's officers are encouraging signs that a Banerjee-led West Bengal government will be friendlier to the United States than the current CPI-M one. Post recommends USG officials continue to cultivate Banerjee, who has not yet visited the United States, in her current capacity as Railways Minister and the likely next Chief Minister of West Bengal.
PAYNE
http://www.thehindu.com/news/the-in...chief-minister-in-waiting/article14690446.ece
