Thaindian News

Kolkata, May 13 (IANS) Prominent intellectuals Friday expressed their happiness over the defeat of the 34-year-old Left Front government in the state and said the result was most expected as the people of the state were fed up with the misrule of the Marxists.

“I am very happy that Left has been defeated… the result was most expected. They should have gone out of power 20 years back. The people were fed up with their atrocities and arrogance,” writer Atin Bandopadhyay, once close to the Left Front, told IANS.

Outgoing Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, known as a cultured man with refined tastes and a passion for literature, used to have a good following among the artists and writers of the state.

But the scenario changed after the anti-land acquisition protests in Nandigram and Singur in 2007-2008, when the Left was accused of adopting strong arm tactics against farmers and the poor, its traditional votebank.

A section of intellectuals felt that non-governance and arrogance were the main two reasons behind the defeat of the Left Front.

“Their body language and arrogance have taken them down. But one of the most important reasons for their defeat was non-governance,” said author Sirshendu Mukhopadhayay.

“It is a historic verdict. They have taken the state into a hell in all the sections. They have failed to perform. They have survived only by rigging,” said theatre personality Manoj Mitra.

National Award wining film maker Gautam Ghosh, who took part in several rallies condemning the government’s action in Nandigram, said he felt that a party cannot carry on ruling for a long time in a parliamentary democracy.

“The result was most accepted. Actually in a parliamentary democracy it is not good that one party carries on ruling a state for decades. I am very happy with the verdict,” he said.

While hailing the verdict as a “historic mandate”, a section of intellectuals were sceptical about Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee’s ability to handle this pressure of expectations.

“It is indeed a historic verdict. Actually it was a fight where a woman defeated an organised Left Front. But I don’t know how much pressure of expectations she will be able to handle. She now has much more responsibility on her shoulders,” said writer Samaresh Majumdar.