The political chicanery of the BJP Government in Delhi has been repeatedly exposed over reopening of the Dunlop factory at Sahaganj during the last eighteen months. The Prime Minister Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee and his Industries Minister, Mr. Sikander Bhakth made numerous promises to help reopen the factory and save the employment of several thousand starving workers. Thus far and no further. The Trinamul Congress an alliance partner of the BJP fielded a candidate for the 1998 Lok Sabha election in the Hooghly constituency, flooded it with hollow promises of reopening the factory. Ms. Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamul Congress's candidate then Mr. Tapan Dasgupta were so euphoric about their clout that they would bring moon to earth with Mr. Vajpayee being at their side. The balloon of promises has been punctured. This was in 1998, Mr. Tapan Dasgupta's is again Trinamul's candidate this year.

The West Bengal Government simply wanted the Centre to take over the factory under the Industries Development Act. and hand it over to the State Government to run it as the creditors and Banks had no faith in the credibility of the management. They know that the Chhabrias, the proprietors of Dunlop has already siphoned off crores of rupees from the company and has no intention of restarting the operation of the premier tyre manufacturing company of the country. Ms Mamata Banerjee was aware of her limitations. Tapan Dasgupta too know it but last year was a season of promise for them. Trinmul's campaign is running on the same lines again. But the electorate of Hooghly constituency knows how to teach a lesson to Ms. Banerjee or Mr. Tapan Dasgupta. The Dunlop workers know what Ms. Banerjee and her party candidate Tapan Dasgupta are up to. Wherever they are going, they face the same unpleasant questions about Dunlop again and again Ms. Banerjee and Mr. Tapan Dasgupta have yet to find the Trinamul Congress's campaign in Hooghly constituency to take off the ground. They are on sticky wicket this time.

Even though the Trinamul Congress virtually forgot the Dunlop workers all these eighteen months, Rupchand Pal of the CPI (M) who won the Hooghly constituency last time, has been with the workers all these days being an active partner in the movement for reopening the Dunlop factory at Sahagunj. Rupchand Pal is again the Left Front candidate for the Hooghly seat again. Not only the workers and their familes of Dunlop, the people of Hooghly district know for certain that they will depend wholeheartedly on the leadership and effort of Rupchand Pal in future too.

The Dunlop factory may not have reopened but it is crystal clear that because of the Left Front and Left Party leaders, the Chhabrias could not either sell off the property of the factory or take out equipment and machinery worth hundreds of crores of rupees from it.

Trinamul Congress has already been exposed. Side by side the campaign of Rupchand Pal, the CPI(M) candidate of the Left Front in Hooghly has gathered momentum. The Left Front candidates campaign is going on in full swing. The Front workers are found everywhere, writing graffitis on walls or holding group or street corner meetings or collecting funds for the poll. In the previous Lok Sabha, Rupchand Pal was the Chief Whip of the CPI(M) and Chairman of the Estimate Committee.

The Left Front cadres know how the so-called workers of the Trinamul BJP function. In the last panchayat election they resorted to unprecedented violence, used guns and revolvers to make inroads into Left strongholds. Having resorted to violence the Trinamul-BJP combine bagged the Singur Panchayat Samiti. They also won 10-gram panchayats.

But the people have been disillusioned about the working of the panchayat bodies controlled by the BJP-Trinamul combine. Large-scale corruption is evident in these panchayet bodies. Even the meetings addressed by Ms. Mamata Banerjee are think attended these days. The Trinamul Congress candidate, Mr. Tapan Dasgupta in his address at meetings is taking resort to personal vilification in an attempt to hold the attention of the audience. The trick has not succeeded. On the other hand, Left Front's meetings exposing the political bankruptcy of the BJP, its war on minorities and economic failures in the constituency, are largely attended. It appears that Rupchand Pal will win this time too with a much larger majority than in the last occasion. The failure of the BJP-led government at the centre, the hollow promises of the Trinamul Congress have made the electorate wiser this time about the real character of the BJP-Trinamul Congress leaders and their cadres alike.