It has been nearly sixteen years since the anti-land acquisition movement in West Bengal's Singur constituency linked to Tata Motors' famed Nano car plant gripped the state and led to the downfall of the Left Front government. Yet, it remains a hotly contested topic, and continues to dominate the political narrative in the Hooghly Lok Sabha constituency.
Toppling the CPI (M) government, Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress rose to power and has held on to it since then. Hooghly, Singur made headlines in 2006-07 due to the anti-land acquisition movement which eventually drove Tata Motors' Nano car plant to Gujarat. The lost opportunity of industrialisation in West Bengal remains a key issue in the state to date.
TMC's Banerjee has nominated Rachana Banerjee, the popular host of the successful television program 'Didi No 1', as a candidate against BJP's incumbent MP and prominent actor Locket Chatterjee. Additionally, CPI (M)'s emerging leader Monodip Ghosh is campaigning on the platform of industrial growth and employment opportunities.
Chaterjee said she will bring back Tata to the state if elected to power.
"We are confident of victory in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. We anticipate securing more seats than our 2019 count of 18. Once we win the polls comprehensively, the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government will collapse in the state. After the BJP government comes to power, our first job will be to invite the Tatas to Singur," PTI quoted Chatterjee as saying.
Years on, TMC has held its own saying that the party was never against industry but only against forcible land acquisition.
"We were never against industry or Tatas. We were against forcible land acquisition by the CPI (M). In the last 12 years, our government has made several concrete efforts to bring industries into the state and we have been successful in achieving it," TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said.
Hooghly Tata Motor issue, not nano
Hooghly, renowned for its fertile farmlands capable of producing multiple crops, gained attention when Tata Motors targeted Singur for establishing a small car manufacturing plant in 2006. The Left Front government acquired 997.11 acres along National Highway 2 and transferred it to the company.In a bold move, opposition leader and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee led a 26-day hunger strike, demanding the return of 347 acres allegedly forcefully acquired.
Despite numerous emissaries and meetings between the TMC and the Left Front government, no resolution was achieved, leading to Tata's relocation of the plant from Singur to Gujarat. Following a prolonged legal struggle, the Mamata Banerjee government, upon assuming power in 2011, passed the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Bill.
Unwilling farmers received their plots back in 2016, yet a considerable portion remains unsuitable for cultivation.
The CPI (M) held TMC responsible for turning the region into an unproductive, barren terrain. "Due to dirty politics of the TMC, the area neither got a world-class car plant nor agriculture as the land that was returned is no longer in a position to be cultivated," CPI (M)'s Ghosh said.
Singur's TMC MLA, Becharam Manna, alleged that the opposition is exaggerating the matter of industrial development during election campaigns.
"The opposition's recurrent tactic is to leverage the industrial narrative in every election. Yet, the steadfast farmers of Singur have time and again thwarted such attempts, delivering decisive victories in both assembly and panchayat polls. They will continue to support us in the Lok Sabha elections," he said.
Agricultural experts have opined that to render the land suitable for cultivation again, it's imperative to remove a minimum of eight inches of topsoil due to the presence of concrete pillars and cemented slabs protruding from the ground.
However, this process is costly, and the farmers lack the means to cover such expenses.
Local farmers say it would take at least seven years for the land to be returned to a condition where crops can be grown. "Industrialisation and the lost opportunity for it will continue to be the key issue in the polls. Both the TMC and the BJP will try to milk the issue. Now who will benefit most from it will only be known on June 4 after the votes are counted," PTI quoted political analyst Biswanath Chakraborty as saying.
The constituency was a pocket borough of the CPI (M) until the Singur issue surfaced.
The constituency remained firmly under CPI (M)'s control until the Singur controversy emerged. Capitalizing on farmer unrest, TMC secured victory in 2009 and repeated it in 2014.
BJP's Locket Chatterjee won by a significant margin in 2019, garnering nearly 46.5% of the votes, while TMC trailed with around 41%. However, in the 2021 assembly elections, TMC swept all seven assembly segments within the Hooghly Lok Sabha constituency.
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