Perhaps even the diehard supporter of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) did not expect the Left Front to come back to power — the typical Bengali’s disenchantment with Left Front rule was all too apparent. But the sheer size of Mamata Banerjee’s victory must have taken everyone’s breath away. The unambiguous verdict of the state’s electorate will now result in a dramatic change of regime. In rather colourful language, the chief architect of this change, Banerjee herself, has termed this a second “independence” for West Bengal. What can Bengal look forward to with her as the chief minister?

Parliamentary democracy works best when a single party or a group of like-minded parties has a comfortable majority, but is faced with a relatively strong Opposition. Ruling parties need a comfortable majority because they need to be able to feel that their government will have a sufficiently long innings. This enables them to have the much-needed long-term vision which is very important for governments to undertake investment projects with large gestation lags. Since there is no political constraint such as the need to satisfy short-term interests of vote banks, the Trinamul Congress-led government can press full steam ahead towards its stated goal of restoring the fortunes of the state.

But will the overwhelming majority gained by the TMC prove to be an embarrassment of riches? It will face no opposition in the state assembly, and can pass virtually any piece of legislation. Indeed, the government can take practically any executive action without facing much opposition because the CPI(M) will take some time to recover from the clobbering it has received in the elections. So there is the very real danger that the ruling party can become complacent. Or it can become arrogant and brush aside even legitimate protest. After all, arrogance was one of the main reasons for the defeat of the Left Front — it simply ignored the strong resentment of landowners in rural Bengal when the government tried to forcibly acquire their land.

The other reason why a somewhat more balanced legislature would have been preferable is the possible fallout at the Centre. As I mention later on, the state government will need a great deal of help from the Central government, at least in the initial couple of years. But the Central government (and more importantly, the Congress) will have to take into account several competing demands on its resources. Inevitably, it will fail to fully satisfy the demands of the state government. How will Banerjee react when some of her demands are rejected by the Centre? In the past, she has not always come across as a very reasonable person. Since the TMC has an absolute majority on its own, she may well threaten to pull out of the United Progressive Alliance government as the Congress cannot issue a retaliatory threat. And if her demands are rejected frequently, she may actually carry out her threat. This possibility would not have arisen if the TMC required the support of the Congress in order to acquire a majority in the state legislature.

Banerjee has been making all the right noises about sharing power, and the Congress has reciprocated her sentiments. Of course, this is consistent with an initial period of honeymoon during which much bonhomie will be generated by the two parties. Soon everyone will have to get down to business, figure out the priorities and implement them as best as they can.

The most important priority is a massive increase in employment in the state. During the bulk of the Left Front’s tenure in office, the industrial sector was allowed to languish with disastrous consequences for the state. It was only during the last few years of its reign that the Left Front realized its errors and tried to encourage new industrial ventures. But the Front went about it in a particularly ham-handed way by completely alienating the landowners. Unfortunately, Banerjee’s own position on the issue of industrialization has been at best ambivalent. She was staunchly opposed to the state government’s efforts to acquire fertile land for the Tata Nano project. She has to realize that new and large industrial projects can only be set up in areas with adequate infrastructure. The requirement of adequate infrastructure may make the acquisition of some fertile land inevitable simply because infrastructure is grossly inadequate in areas with large tracts of barren land. So a sensible land acquisition policy is almost a prerequisite for rapid industrialization in the state. But Banerjee will need to acknowledge that she had erred in the past in order for such a policy to evolve.

The second priority must be an immediate attempt to restore the fiscal health of the state. The state’s tax revenue collection as a proportion of state domestic product is dismal, possibly amongst the lowest in the country. Over the longer run, a faster rate of industrialization will automatically increase the ratio of tax revenue to state income since tax rates are higher in the industrial sector. However, industrialization cannot pick up in several parts of the state unless there is a radical improvement in the infrastructure — better roads, assured supplies of power, and so on. The state must invest heavily in infrastructure development. It must convince the Central government to transfer additional funds to the state for this purpose. But there is no realistic scenario in which the Centre will provide resources unless the state too pitches in. That is why there is an urgent need to increase the resources available to the state government. It is imperative that the new finance minister immediately identifies the reasons underlying such a low ratio of revenue to state domestic product, tightens up the state tax administration, and identifies new sources of tax revenue.

The other area crying out for attention is human development. West Bengal was once amongst the leading states in both health and education. Neglect in terms of funding as well as misguided policies have eroded the eminent position of the state. Today, West Bengal lags far behind the leading states in India. It is refreshing to read that Banerjee has decided to retain initial charge of both the health and education portfolios. She may not be able to fulfil her promise of setting up a hospital in every district. Hopefully, she will at least be able to ensure that all the existing institutions function reasonably well.

It used to be said that Indira Gandhi was the only man in her cabinet. Very much the same can be said of Banerjee. No one can doubt that Banerjee wants the best for Bengal. There is even less scope to question her personal integrity. But there is only so much that she can do on her own. She has to be able to ensure that the vast majority of the state’s residents put in their best efforts. That may well prove to be a Herculean task, given a work culture where the majority of government functionaries arrive in office well past the scheduled opening hour, and where files move at a snail’s pace unless palms are adequately greased. But if she does succeed in inspiring others, then there is no reason why we should not see a better Bengal in the future.