How Mamata Banerjee’s Singur victory may come back to haunt her

What Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of West Bengal and Trinamool Congress chairperson, has done is perhaps without precedent: She celebrated the defeat of her own state. Mamata — didi to her acolytes and supporters — kept her most difficult promise, riding on a Supreme Court verdict that turned in her favour, and returned the land to protesting farmers of Singur.

On August 31, the apex court held that the acquisition of land in Singur back in 2006 by the CPI-M-led Left Front government was illegal, and directed the Trinamool Congress dispensation to return it to its owners, along with compensation deemed suitable back then. Mamata was not a petitioner in the lawsuit but a defendant since the legal battle was between the former state government and the farmers of Singur. No one in history has probably been as happy to lose a case as was Mamata.

She celebrated her state’s ‘defeat’ in a gala ceremony at the agricultural hamlet in Hooghly on September 14. Following the Supreme Court directives, she returned land deeds and distributed compensation cheques to those who refused to be recompensed by the erstwhile Left Front regime. What was supposed to be an administrative event, in the presence of the state’s top bureaucrats, turned into a victory rally for her party, with all ministers and top Trinamool leaders in attendance.

As she declared “promises kept” amidst thunderous applause — much of the gathering consisted of party supporters from all over South Bengal, who were brought in droves to add mass to the rally — there remained hardly any doubt that Mamata now claims greater political capital than all the opposition parties combined. What seemed impossible even a month back is now a reality and she has been able to keep her most difficult promise. For her and for her party, life came full circle on that balmy afternoon.

Even though she could not be any happier, the unexpected triumph will not make her job easy. Unlike back in 2006, the rules of the game have changed somewhat. When the Singur crisis was unfolding, she was in the opposition and the challenge was to prevent the Left from acquiring land. The challenge was also to wrest power, riding the crest of a mass movement. Ten tears later, as the chief minister she cannot afford to be unsociable towards industry.

Her elation over the triumph at Singur could also backfire if the Opposition’s concerted campaign leaves a mark on the minds of probable investors that she is actually not industry-friendly. And things will only get harder with the countdown beginning for the annual Biswa Bangla business summit in January, where Mamata will welcome captains of industry, pampering them to get investment commitments. The summit has served two purposes till date — to make her look more amiable towards private investment and to keep the opposition at bay. Keeping the annual gala in mind, her team has already set out to different parts of the globe, looking for commitments of attendance.

If state officials have been working hard for the last six months to make the summit a success, Mamata herself recently went to Europe, looking for assurances for a well-attended summit. The challenge before her is to establish that the summit is not just another wine-and-dine gathering of industry bosses but a place where some serious commitments will be made to set up industries in Bengal. Keeping these aspects in mind, she announced from the stage at Singur on September 14 about land readily available for industry and invited “Tata Motors, BMW, or anyone else” to set up an automobile factory.

The buzz is that even Mamata knows BMW is not likely to visit Bengal, and her invite was all about placating the Tata group. Keeping her vote bank in mind, she reiterated her policy of never acquiring land forcibly. She also announced a number of sops, from one-time grant of Rs10,000 to easily-available loans of up to Rs 24 lakh, along with state support to set up farming infrastructure at Singur once again after the land is made cultivable. Almost in the same breath, she asked her officials to hold back from demolishing the factory shed of the proposed Tata plant at Singur, and urged Tata Motors to take care of its own stuff.

This was in sharp contrast to what she did during the days of the Singur movement, when she inspired the land-losers of Singur and her supporters to break down the factory wall. Interestingly, her administration has now put up posters to prevent the same. There are also whispers of Mamata opening up back channels with Tata through state finance minister Amit Mitra, a former head of FICCI. Mamata’s other major challenge would be to keep herself abreast of the many undercurrents at Singur, from the restlessness of share-croppers and land-less workers to the aspirations of the local youth.

Back in 2006, sharecroppers and landless agricultural workers formed the most militant faction of her agitation. Least to gain from the factory coming up, they were most invested in the movement. But, under the changed circumstances, where once-protesting farmers are now willing to sell their land to the highest bidder, these farm workers fear that the state’s monthly allowance of Rs 2,000 and a monthly quota of 16 kg rice at Rs 2 per kilo may not continue for long. Since Mamata hardly mentioned them in her victory speech at Singur, they could turn back to bite the same hand that feeds them now.

At the other end of the spectrum are the local youth, who have grown up in the last decade, witness to the struggle of their parents. Barely in their teens back in 2006, they observed first hand over the last 10 years how an agrarian economy, which gave them the status of middle-class, crumbled and paved their descent into poverty. 

Growing up amidst the political upheaval that dogged them at every step, they now want a factory to come up at Singur. Most of them engaged in odd jobs in far-flung places believe only a move towards industrialisation will change their lot.

As Mamata sets out for another decade in power showcasing her triumph at Singur as a watershed, she can hardly forget the past, when she came to the brink of political ignominy. Even as things now look different from the chief minister’s office, and she is ready to have her name etched in the annals of history, Mamata’s toughest battle would be to put Bengal on a path of development, while balancing her rural, agrarian vote bank. What now seems like the mythical hero’s journey could well turn into Greek tragedy, where the hero’s fate is sealed by a weak heel.

The author is a senior Kolkata-based journalist