IT industry smiles at red Buddha's win

BANGALORE: West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee managed to pull off what former chief ministers of south Indian states SM Krishna and Chandrababu Naidu couldn't: a thumping victory based on a poll plank of economic reforms and IT-friendly policies.

Both Krishna of Karnataka and Naidu of Andhra Pradesh succumbed to the anti-incumbency factor in their respective states and psephologists attributed their undoing to their pro-IT slant. But Buddha's case is different. He has been able to balance rural priorities such as agriculture, land reforms and poverty alleviation along with industrial growth. He attributed the astounding 235-seat win (and with higher margins than the previous election) to his government's agenda for reforms.

Despite being part of an ideology-driven Leftist party that has reigned for over 30 years, Bhattacharjee caused an internal stir by going all out to invite “capitalistic” private investors after he assumed office in 2000. His cadre-based party, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), had traditionally relied on the traditional vote bank of farmers and the rural hinterland. But now, the electoral wins in Greater Kolkata, a traditional anti-communist bastion, prove that Buddha has won the favor of the city's urban Bhadralok and the business community.

After taking over the reins from the patriarch and Politburo member, Jyoti Basu, Bhattacharjee worked out a pro-reform agenda that aimed at broadening not just the state's economic scope but also the image of the communist party. "Without capitalism, you cannot bring socialism in a feudal society," he was quoted saying to an international wire agency while on a campaign tour this year.

Bhattacharjee saw IT as a major growth driver for investment and employment generation. In 2000, the West Bengal created the IT department, and two years later, introduced the IT and ITES policy. Publicizing the State's new face in India and abroad through road shows helped in dispelling perceptions that the state was anti-business and rife with labor unrest. He also invested in roads and infrastructure to bolster industry confidence.

He also took a hard stance and surprised some of his Leftist colleagues when he assured the IT industry that it would not be affected by labor strikes by trade unions in the state. This followed an incident when the industry was affected by a strike in Kolkata in September last year.

Today, West Bengal's IT exports are around Rs 2200 crore and make up for around 5.2 per cent of the national software exports. Buddha is hoping to boost this to 15 per cent by 2010.

The resounding victory of the Left — especially with Bhattacharjee at the helm -- is a definite sign that West Bengal would continue to be an investor-friendly destination. And this means that the IT industry will smile with the second coming of Buddha.

However, this cannot be said about Kerala where the CPI (M)-led Left Democratic Front has won 98 seats out of the 140 elected seats in the state assembly. Kerala, despite having a significant talent pool and many firsts in the country, is yet to join the IT mainstream.

The Kerala voter seemed to have stood by the poll issues raised by the staunch communist leader and probable chief minister candidate, VS Achuthanandan: farm crisis, sex rackets and mafia operations in the state rather than development issues such as Smart City, Express Highway and container terminals.

But will the CPI (M) ignore these development activities once they are sworn in? Hardly, it seems so. Many within the CPI (M), especially the moderates, strongly believe that toeing the Bhattacharjee line of reforms would not harm the interests of the party or the state.

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