ABSTRACT
Chapter Four is the first empirical chapter of the book, addressing one of the core puzzles of the West Bengal story: why did the CPIM/Left Front decide to deviate significantly from its ideological discourse and undertake a policy transition in accordance with the central government initiated pro-market reforms during early 1990s, while publically remaining highly critical of the same? The focus of this chapter is therefore on the period of transition (c.1991–2000) in the political economic history of West Bengal, and to highlight the complex and dynamic range of political negotiations underpinning it. The chapter addresses, in turn, the industrial economy of West Bengal both before and during the Left Front years, the transition in industrial policy 1994, the subsequent economic and institutional changes, the fiscal and federal compulsions behind the transition, and finally, the political factors behind the process (support base, ideological negotiations and political salesmanship). The chapter presents not just a reevaluation of an interesting chapter in the economic history of West Bengal, but rather is an effort to understand the political choices of the time, which continue to shape the state’s development trajectory to the present day.
