Kolkata, May 21
The CPM was routed at Singur and Nandigram where Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had experimented his rapid industrialisation policy with private investment by forcibly acquiring the farm lands.
The results of the state’s three-tier panchayat elections announced today indicated the failure of Bhattacharjee’s new industrialisation programme in several other areas in east and west Midnapore, north and south 24-parganas, Hooghly and Howrah, where the CPM suffered a major setback.
CPM secretary Biman Bose admitted their failure at Singur and Nandigram and some other places but he denied that the mandate was against the party and the government. He said in many districts, particularly in Murshidabad, Malda, Howrah, Burdwan and Nadia, the CPM had done fairly well. He was expecting better results, he added.
Mamata Banerjee thanked people for defeating the CPM at Nandigram, Singur and elsewhere in the state, adding that it was the people’s mandate against the misrule of the arrogant Chief Minister, who had no moral right to be still in power.
Mamata said they would have no objection if the anti-CPM parties were united and fight against the CPM. She said if the anti-CPM parties were united it could have been possible to defeat the CPM everywhere.
Union information minister Priya Dasmunshi, who is also the WBPCC president, said they would decide their future stand after reviewing the election results vis-à-vis the over all political situation. He thanked the people for voting against the CPM. He advised the Chief Minister and Biman Bose to accept the verdict and step down.
The elections results declared so far hinted that of the 329 Zila Parishad, the anti-CPM parties, including the Congress, the Trinamool and in some places, the BJP would be in power at least in 160.
Interestingly, at Dinhata in Coochbehar and Basanti in south 24-paganas, where the CPM had clashed with the Forward Bloc and the RSP, respectively, on the eve of the elections also suffered a major debacle.
