By Ajitha Menon : Azim Premji has once again honoured his friendship with West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya. Wipro’s commitment to widen its base in Bengal by taking up the state government’s offer of 50 acres in the satellite township of Rajarhat, off Kolkata, at Rs 1.5 crore per acre, has brought relief to Bhattacharya caught in an uncomfortable situation at present.
With the exit of Tata Motors from Singur and the blatant obstruction of almost all major industrialization projects in West Bengal by the opposition, Bhattacharya was seeing his whole vision of growth and development for the state going down the drain. It may be recalled here that it was this very vision of the politician which had earned the respect of the mild-mannered Wipro head in the first place.
Bhattacharya was also rapidly becoming persona non-grata within his own party and the Left Front, with everyone blaming his industrialization policy for the opposition Trinamul Congress’s rapidly increasing popularity in the state, reflected in the tremendous gains the latter made in the panchayat, municipal, Lok Sabha elections and the Assembly by-polls. Premji has come forward when everything was actually going downhill for Bhattacharya.
In fact, the Wipro Chairman was one of the first to repose faith in the communist Chief Minister’s new industrialization policy by setting up Wipro’s first campus in Sector V, Saltlake. Now once again, when other investors are either pulling out or dithering, its Premji who has exhibited unshakeable trust in Bhattacharya’s commitment to take the state forward. Infosys, for example has put its proposed project in Bengal on the backburner after the Singur disaster.
“We look forward to a continued partnership with the Government of West Bengal to help generate employment and add to the State’s initiative towards inclusive growth” was what Mr Laxman K. Badiga, CIO and Operations, Wipro, said after the Premji-Buddhadeb meeting at Writers’ building yesterday.
Wipro’s second campus in Kolkata will come up on the side of a 10-lane road at Newtown, Rajarhat. The area is accessible from the Airport in 15 minutes. Premji, the Chairman of Wipro Limited, himself visited the spot along with officials of IT and Housing Departments before deciding to buy.
There is no doubt now that things are definitely looking up for the IT sector in the state even during this downturn. TCS has got 40 acres of land from the state government, close to the second site chosen by Wipro. Some noted IT, infrastructure and real estate companies such as DLF, Shapoorji Palonji, RMZ, Kepel Magus, Unitech, etc. have also got their foothold in Rajarhat currently, with a commitment to create a huge amount of built up space.
According to Mr Siddharth, IT Principal Secretary, West Bengal, with the inclusion of Wipro, the IT hub in the Newtown, Rajarhat area now encompasses more than 300 acres of land.
The show of support by Premji, no doubt extended only after the industrialist was convinced that it was a sound decision for Wipro, comes at a crucial time for Bhattacharya. But whether the Chief Minister successfully capitalizes on this breakthrough to regain the glory of ‘Brand Buddha’ and overcome the current political difficulties he faces in the state, is something which only the next Assembly election – due in early 2011 - results will show.
