Six months ago virtually every political analyst in West Bengal was of the opinion that Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamul Congress alliance would sweep the forthcoming Assembly polls. Now they are not so sure. The tide, some aver, is turning; Marxist prospects are once again brightening. Instead of a landslide now most predict a tough fight.
While Bengal’s voters might not be doing a major rethink, they certainly are hesitating. These last minute qualms point to a real concern about the future of the state, beset as it has been with years of stagnation and fading hopes.