ABSTRACT
The assembly elections in West Bengal took place in six phases through the months of April-May 2011. The elections in Rajarhat were held in the third phase on 27 April 2011. Results were declared on 13 May 2011. Almost everywhere, the ruling party and the Left Front candidates were defeated. In Rajarhat, as also in RajarhatGopalpur (the New Town area), the ruling party candidates were trounced. Of particular interest was the defeat of Rabindranath Mandal (popularly known as Rabin Mondal), who was the chairman of the Bhangar Rajarhat Area Development Authority (BRADA). He had been contesting the assembly seat of Rajarhat from 1977, and except in 2001 had won every time. Except in 1991 and 1996 (48.75 per cent and 47.9 per cent), he had secured nearly or over 50 per cent of total votes cast in every election. In 1982, in the wake of the land reforms programme of the Left Front government he had secured an astounding 59.6 per cent votes. In 2001, he had lost, following peasant discontent over land acquisition. However, the opposition candidate belonging to the Trinamool Congress, Tanmoy Mandal, after winning got involved in land deals. Rabin Mondal was a known man in Rajarhat, although Tanmoy had earlier contested as the Congress candidate in 1982 and 1996. Rabin Mondal came back into the reckoning in 2006 when peasants opted for him and he won back the seat. This redoubtable party leader contested again in 2011 and lost. He could secure only 37 per cent of the votes cast (54,104 out of 145,309 votes cast) and trailed much behind the votes of the winning candidate (88,829 votes). Likewise, his party colleague, Tapas Chatterjee, lost the Rajarhat-Gopalpur seat (Map 8.1). The developmental politics with which Rabin Mondal had earlier secured votes (by setting up colleges, schools, Integrated
Child Development Scheme [ICDS] centres, construction of roads, etc.) and which now meant steamrolling peasants and favouring party cronies and developers of ill-repute to construct the New Town had finally failed in getting popular sanction.
