Time will tell whether the fall of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the rise of the Trinamool Party, as evidenced in the West Bengal assembly by-polls, is a curious case of jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
The Left's gradual decline after 32 years — coupled with years of political decay within the party — took a long time coming. The alternative, that is the emergence of the Trinamool Congress, is not an entirely viable one but, under the circumstances, it is the only option provided their ally, the Congress at the centre, drives and monitors this alliance.
Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee labelled her party's triumph a "democratic tsunami" and her observations were not off the mark. The people of West Bengal, both in rural and urban areas, have been bereft of hope — socially, economically and politically. Any change, therefore, would be viewed with optimism.
This formula of damned if you do and damned if you don't was also offered to the voters in the Uttar Pradesh by-polls, where the Bahujan Samaj Party, led by much reviled UP Chief Minister Mayawati, routed the Mulayem Singh's Samajwadi Party.
The only thing predictable about Indian politics is its unpredictability.
