Kudos for attempt

Despite the Anna Hazare no-show at Mamata Banerjee’s national pitch at Delhi durbar, the TMC supremo must be congratulated for her gutsy and passionate speech at Ramlila Maidan on Wednesday. Presenting an alternative to both the overtly corrupt Congress-led UPA regime and the communally-coloured development of the BJP-driven opposition in NDA, Banerjee married national ambitions with a more egalitarian politics. Much like the street-fighting modus operandi deployed by Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party, Banerjee’s strong words can bring back the politics of emotions, which has been suitably galvanised by AAP. However, instead of toying with emotions based of caste, religion and language, both Banerjee and Kejriwal have fronted the economic afflictions, as also aspirations, of the aam aadmi to gather support. Given that Banerjee has already lent her support to Jayalalithaa for a Federal Front, electoral politics is heating up and poll math is turning into taking calculated risks in larger interests. Banerjee’s questions to both Congress and BJP must be heard and answered, not just for their political legitimacy, but also because the development models of both the camps are now suspect and falling flat under the harsh light of dispassionate socioeconomic analysis. A true dance of democracy must allow all the players to perform and Banerjee’s honest attempt must be lauded.