From Our Special Correspondent in Kolkata AS the first phase of elections draws near in West Bengal, the ruling party is facing wrath at the grass root level over scams, happened one after another in last 34 months. While one of the major issues in the national elections is mega scams during UPA rule, West Bengal also had its pie in corruptions, starkly manifested in TMC rule. The biggest financial scandal in the history of the state surfaced in April last year when the bubble around Sharada chit fund burst. At least 17 lakh people suffered through this ponzi loot and from the beginning the nexus between the ruling party and chit fund owners was clear. Owner of Sharada group was arrested but the political mentors were not touched. The media empire, built by Sharada in association with TMC, collapsed and names of bigwigs came to light. After some months of dilly-dallying, TMC MP Kunal Ghosh was arrested only when he began to speak out the details of the deals between TMC and Sharada. Beyond that, the investigation remained fruitless, deliberately slackened. The Judiciary including Kolkata High Court and Supreme Court have repeatedly expressed their dissatisfaction over the investigation proceedings. The properties of Sharada were neither seized nor the much-touted compensation fructified. Mostly people from lower income groups suffered in the scam. This has now become a serious issue in the elections and questions are being raised about the attitude of the state government. The ruling party is apprehending backlash, particularly in large parts of rural southern Bengal. The youths are particularly angered by teachers recruitment scam. Starting from revealing the actual number of examinees in the TET examination to the recruited primary teachers, the government and its primary education department have done an unprecedented nepotism that deprived millions of job aspirants throughout the state. Trinamul MPs, MLAs, district TMC leaders have manipulated the TET examination massively to give their relations the primary teacher’s job. The scam has come to surface with revelations from administrative quarters itself. It was found that appointments were done in exchange of money in large scale. Several rules were violated and the High court had to intervene time and again. For past several months, demonstrations took place protesting the nepotism. Left students and youth organisations organised wide protest actions. The walls in the districts are full with slogans, cartoons on TET. It has in fact become one of the major issues in the election campaign. The frustration among the youth over acute joblessness has been accentuated by this scam. This, among other things, is being reflected in large participation of younger people in Left Front’s campaign programmes. TMC has tried to deflect the real issues by fielding some of the cine stars, otherwise popular. In Northern Bengal, Siliguri-Jalpaiguri Development Authority Scam has unmasked the corrupt rule. The TMC government and its North Bengal Development department were reported to be directly involved in the defrauding of huge money from the autonomous SJDA. More than Rs 200 crores were siphoned off in the name of various projects which were not implemented at all. One district magistrate, who was CEO at the time of corruption, was arrested by Siliguri Police Commissioner K. Jayaraman after intensive interrogation. But, to the dismay of the people, the Siliguri Police Commissioner was immediately transferred. TMC candidates and activists are finding it hard to explain to the people. In northern Bengal, which is going to the polls in the first phase, the unfulfilled promises, frauds perpetrated in the name of foundation laying ceremonies and wild announcements by the chief minister herself have become a boomerang for the ruling party. Be it reopening of Coochbehar Airport, new industrial parks, jute parks, Kishan markets, water projects, tall promises and full page advertisements in the newspapers, all proved to be false. Nothing has progressed and Mamata Banerjee’s now infamous rhetoric of turning Northern Bengal into ‘Switzerland’ has started to backfire. Ruling party is feeling a sense of alienation and deep discontent among the people. Left Front activists are engaged in intensive campaign, withstanding terror and attacks in many places. Large mass mobilisations have taken place in Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Siliguri, Naxalbari areas. CPI(M) has also reached to the people of the Darjeeling hills with alternative proposal of enhanced self government, receiving warm response.