Buddhadev Bhattacharya will be sworn in today as the successor to Jyoti Basu as he leaves office today at a crucial juncture when the CPI(M)-led ruling Left Front faces a tough challenge from its main political opponent Trinamool Congress in next year`s assembly elections in the state. The party has made elaborate plans for the swear-in ceremony. It is to be seen as to how the new CM measures up to the doyen of West Bengal politics, Jyoti Basu.
With the assembly elections barely six months away, Bhattacharya, the seventh chief minister of the state, will have to walk on a tight-rope to keep the nine-party Left coalition well poised for the polls and ensure its return to power for the sixth consecutive time.
A member in the Basu Cabinet since the first left front`s tenure in 1977, Bhattacharya was nominated Basu`s successor after the latter announced his decision to retire on health grounds. Considered the second man in the Cabinet, he has been Basu`s deputy for less than a year to relieve the burden of the 87-year-old chief minister. An experienced minister and senior CPI(M) leader, Bhattacharya has been advised by Basu to ensure smooth functioning of the state administration as also the coalition`s unity prior to the polls.
Political observers feel Basu`s exit from the corridors of power will prove to be an initial hindrance for the Bhattacharya team. Besides, "dissidence" in the CPI(M) on various issues and resentment among some of the Front partners over the new leadership may pose problems for the new chief minister.
Bureau Report