14th Bengal Assembly begins tomorrow

Kolkata, Jun 11 (UNI) Featuring a stronger Left Front in the absence of a recognised main opposition, the maiden session of the 14th West Bengal Assembly begins here tomorrow.

As the House is set to witness history with the Front members occupying the Treasury Bench for the seventh successive term, another record awaits Speaker Hashim Abdul Halim when he gets elected uncontested to the coveted chair for a straight sixth time on the opening day.

The election of the Speaker will be conducted by protem Speaker Gyan Singh Sohanpal, the eldest member of the House, having been elected to the House for eight times on Congress ticket.

Neither the Trinamool Congress, one short of being recognised as the main opposition with only 29 members, nor a 21-strong Congress has staked claim for the Speaker's post.

Mr Halim, who first donned the coveted mantle in 1982 to be elected for the post for five consecutive terms, will have another five years to run to complete 29 years and become the second longest serving Speaker in the world, once he is elected for the sixth time.

The election will be followed by the customary address of Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi in the second half.

In the newly constituted House of 294, the Left Front has 235 members, CPI(M) alone accounting for 176, while all the opposition parties have a total strength of 58 as against 95 in the 13th Assembly. One seat has fallen vacant following the death of a Trinamool Congress member.

With a Vote-on-Account having already been in place before the Assembly elections, an eight-month budget for the state would be placed on June 23.

With drastic fall in strength, the quota of time would be slashed for the opposition in debates though they would be alloted 50 per cent of the total time for questions and mention.

At least for the time being, neither the Trinamool nor the Congress would be able to move a no confidence motion against the Government on its own. If any party wants to bring a no confidence motion it has to take the support from any other party.

In what appears worse for the Trinamool Congress, Legislature Party leader Partha Chatterjee will be denied a car or a private secretary, admissible to the leader of the main opposition, in the absence of the required number.

He would be given a room as alloted to all other parties and a class four employee.

The Trinamool, which cornered 30 seats to be eligible for the status of the main opposition party, was unlucky in sliding below the benchmark after Mr Bhupen Seth, the party's MLA from Bongaon, died a few days after the results were declared.

However, things would take a different turn for the Trinamool if it retains the seat in the byelection, which is yet to be declared.

In the 2001 elections, the Trinamool Congress won 60 seats to be the main opposition party and its Legislature Party leader Pankaj Banerjee enjoyed the status of the opposition leader, on par with a Cabinet Minister.

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