Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina telephoned Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee and congratulated her on her party's massive victory in the state Assembly elections in neighbouring West Bengal.
Hasina conveyed her best wishes to Banerjee on behalf of the Bangladeshi people, the prime minister's press secretary Abul Kalam Azad told the United News of Bangladesh news agency. Banerjee had told journalists at her residence in Kolkata's Kalighat area on Friday that Hasina and Bangladesh foreign minister Dipu Moni had telephoned her.
The two women leaders have been in touch with Banerjee, who is also India's railway minister, to discuss cooperation between the rail networks of the neighbours. "We will work together in fostering the age-old ties between West Bengal and Bangladesh. We have the same culture shaped by great figures like Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam," the New Age quoted Banerjee as saying. In an editorial on Saturday, the Daily Star said Banerjee adopted some of the "humanistic" aspects of the Left Front to defeat the latter in the election.
"It was not unexpected and the extent of the drubbing taken by the world's longest serving democratically-elected communist government in West Bengal may not have been a surprise either," it said. "The 34-year-long rule had lulled party leaders and activists in a complacency mode, topped off by arrogance and a growing indifference to the popular mood and pent-up grievances." "The party's meddling in the affairs of administration blurred the line between the Left Front and the government. Once a leader became a member of the state party committee, he was destined not to be replaced. So, hardly any infusion of new blood would have been possible," the newspaper observed.
"Economically, the state was lagging behind Bihar and Assam with an employment crunch taking hold due to falling investment. Besides, to be employed, party label would be considered a pre-requisite." "Ironically, Left Front, a platform that traditionally enjoyed support among the farmers and the Muslim voters, lost touch with them," the editorial said.