Singur, a small hamlet just two hours from Kolkata, forced itself into the national consciousness when the West Bengal government acquired some 997 acres of fertile land for the Tata Nano project in 2007. Of course, the Tatas had to abandon the project following massive protests over land acquisition. It triggered a raging debate on how to acquire land for industrialisation throughout the country. West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee told some visiting journalists at his party office in Kolkata last week that ?there had been a lot of learnings from Singur?. The complex Indian reality does not fit into any set pattern. So, it is a constant process of learning by experience for those in power. The ongoing assembly election in West Bengal is also part of this process of learning-by-doing for both the ruling Left Front and the opposition led by the Trinamool Congress.
In many ways, even today, Singur represents the most important socio-economic puzzle for politicians in West Bengal and indeed the rest of India. A visit to Singur, at once, brought home the visual metaphor representing both the pain and inevitability of the transition from the pre-industrial to modern mode of life. There is a nearly kilometre-long wall that separates many villages from the car factory structure, which was nearly 80% complete. It looks forlorn today, as if abandoned after war. But for many villagers, it is a constant reminder of what things could have been. Tempers have cooled with the passage of time and village elders, who led the campaign against the Tata Nano project, spoke with greater objectivity and clarity that inevitably comes as you move forward in time. Says Manoranjan Malik of Bajmella village, ?We opposed the Tata project only because of the way the government handled the land acquisition issue. We would welcome new industrial projects that give employment.? Manoranjan Malik is the father of Taposhi Malik, a 19-year-old girl who was killed during the Singur agitation. Later, her death became a rallying point for the other villages that joined the campaign against the small car project. The village closest to the Nano project site is Joymollah, where a 65-year-old marginal Govinda Chattra says he laments the loss of jobs for his two sons who were absorbed at the Tata factory as guards.
Back in Kolkata, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee echoes the sentiment of the Singur village patriarch Manoranjan Malik and says, ?Yes, we made mistakes in Singur and have learnt a lot from it.? Bhattacharjee displays rare humility to outline what he had learnt from Singur and how his government had course corrected over the past two years. He says the government has acquired some 8,000 fresh acres of land since the Singur and Nandigram agitations for industrial use and there has been no protest. ?We realised a few things after the Singur experience. One, as far as possible, avoid acquiring very fertile multi-crop land. Two, have total consensus among villagers over the price of land acquired and rehabilitation packages, which includes creating a long-term stake for them in the industrial land use. It is not enough that 90% of villagers agree and 10% don?t. Everyone must be on board.? Bhattacharjee asserts people want industrialisation but in a manner that removes all their fears in regard to the future. In 2010 and 2011 so far, the state has attracted investments worth R25,000 crore from private sector companies like Jindal Steel, Videocon etc.
However, the ruling Left Front may have learnt its lessons a trifle too late. Sometimes the price paid for a mistake or two may be too high, although it does result in new understandings and realisations. There is a big sentiment in favour of change (poribortan) in West Bengal, which is threatening to sweep the Left Front out of power. The yearning for change is so visible even in smaller villages in the backward districts of Purulia, West Medinipur and Bankura that it is difficult to miss. A rally addressed by Mamata Banerjee in Borjora village in Bankura revealed a sort of spontaneous response from a largely young crowd that would seem unusual. A CPI(M) leader dismissed the crowd?s response saying they do not necessarily translate into votes.
Although the CPI(M) is acutely aware of the massive sentiment in favour of change, it is relying on Trinamool Congress?s sub-optimal organisational efficiency to minimise the damage. One logic trotted out by the Left leaders is that they have seen the worst during the Lok Sabha elections in 2009, when they lost their total vote share in the state by nearly 7% compared with the total vote share they had in the 2006 assembly polls. Mind you, this big drop in the Left Front?s vote share came after the Singur and Nandigram agitations. Therefore, Singur and Nandigram remain inflection points in the recent poll history of West Bengal.
The Left Front came down from a total vote share of about 49.5% at the 2006 assembly elections to about 43% in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. So, if the voters in this assembly poll vote exactly the way they did at the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, the Left Front would get 100 seats, down from 234 seats they got in 2006, in a house of 294. Many Left leaders, therefore, argue the worst has been seen by the CPI(M) in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. If anything, their vote share should recover marginally now. Even if you concede this for a moment, it will mean that the Left Front might stretch to about 110 to 120 seats. That still doesn?t get them anywhere close to power. So, the dice is clearly loaded in favour of Mamata Banerjee, even going by the Left?s most optimistic scenario.
mk.venu@expressindia.com
