The ouster of the Left Front in West Bengal is expected to bring about a dramatic turnaround in the economic fortunes of the state. But this could be a pipedream. After all, nothing much has changed in the State, save the political direction of its Government.

Some might argue that “political direction” is everything, which can bring in its wake a difference in economic performance. But is a turnaround as simple as this? Certainly, politicians of a different ilk will enunciate different policies, which is probably what a change in “political direction” means. But will the Trinamool-Congress combine make any dent in the existing “process” by which policies are implemented?

WORK CULTURE IN GOVT

Work culture is the key to any transformation in the economic profile of West Bengal. Has this culture also changed with the arrival of the new set of political leaders, which will make the prospects of a better-run West Bengal brighter?

Clearly, the answer is “no”, for no other reason than the elementary fact that “work culture”, or culture generally, does not change with a change in political direction. In West Bengal, it will probably be more difficult to engender such a change, because of the decades that have gone into cultivating a destructive work-ethos, courtesy the Left Front.

Indeed, the chances are that those among the Government staff who voted for the Trinamool-Congress combine will resent every effort made by Ms Mamata Banerjee to improve the work culture, which, to begin with, should comprise implementation of the practice of coming to office on time and putting in the necessary hours of work. There are, of course, other aspects of “work culture” which need to be improved, but the honouring of office hours and working diligently for one's salary should clearly form the foundation of any major transformation.

Sadly, what will make the effort of the new Government to improve matters far more problematic is the still-impressive presence of the Left Front in employees' organisations. They will leave no stone unturned to oppose any new office rules and regulations which the new political masters may introduce.

MANAGING EXPECTATIONS

It is not “work culture” alone which will be a major stumbling block in the State's economic transformation. The political expectations of the people concerned, not to speak of the politicians themselves who have been coached for years in the wrong school of political action, will be far from conducive to ushering in rapid change for the better. New industries will require land on which they will set up shop, and it is clear that every such instance will become a flashpoint in the “new” West Bengal, not merely because of the specifics of each case but also because of a premeditated policy decision on the part of the Left Front to make a Singur, and even a Nandigram, of every single land-acquisition issue.

So what is the economic outlook, basically? Mr Amit Mitra, former secretary-general of Ficci who is tipped to take over an important economic portfolio in the new West Bengal Government, said in a recent interview: “The massive mandate that Mamata Bandyopadhyay and Trinamool have earned from the people of Bengal for change, stability and growth will itself spur the interest of investors within the State, from other parts of India and abroad.”

Will the new state Government be able to set the conditions right within the State to take advantage of this flush of interest? Mr Mitra also speaks of “tectonic change” — evidence for which is provided by his (a newcomer's) massive victory over the former State Finance Minister Asim Das Gupta as also that of a former State Chief Secretary over the former Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee — which he argues will make things move “in geometric progression through the forces of the multiplier and accelerator”.

One hopes the former Ficci chief is right, but he will do well to keep in mind that a “wave” must recede at some time or the other. That could begin in six months' time when people realise that not much has changed apart from the colour of the party's flag in power.

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