Basu and Karat

Calcutta, May 25: Jyoti Basu today dismissed Mamata Banerjee’s demand to return 400 acres to farmers who had not given consent to land acquisition for the Tata Motors project in Singur.

“I don’t know how it would be possible. If the land is re-turned, how will the factory be built,’’ he said, emerging from the first session of the CPM state committee, convened to review the party’s setbacks in the rural polls.

“If they (Trinamul) want to stop the construction of the factory by sabotage, the people of the state and the country would realise that they don’t want progress,” he added.

Although Basu had tinkered with Mamata’s earlier — return land — proposal after she called on him at home, he changed his mind after Bhattacharjee and industries minister Nirupam Sen convinced him about the compensation and rehabilitation policy for landlosers.

Today, Basu iterated what Bhattacharjee had offered earlier: “They (the Opposition) better discuss the compensation with the government.”

However, he did not conceal his disappointment over the loss of three zilla parishads and Trinamul and Congress’s impressive show in at least six south Bengal districts.

Admitting the erosion in the CPM’s rural base, Basu said: “We have to bring back those who have deserted us and voted against us.”

Realising the dangers posed by the results, CPM general secretary Prakash Karat attended today’s meeting.

State party secretary Biman Bose told the committee the CPM had got around 50 per cent of the seats at village panchayat level, compared with 68 per cent in 2003.

State committee leaders who spoke today made it clear that the party bore the brunt of Singur and Nandigram and the resultant fear and discontent among farmers stoked by the Opposition.

“While pursuing industrialisation, we paid the price for tactical mistakes. It was a mixture of administrative high-handedness, lack of political skill and failure to convince farmers and counter the Opposition campaign,” said a state committee member.

District leaders said the Opposition parties had distributed CDs showing the March 14 police firing in Nandigram and the violence during the CPM’s recapture of the area in November among voters.

But most leaders felt the land row alone was not responsible for the rout. “It blew the lid off pent-up anger and grievances over malfunctioning panchayats, corruption and high-handless of party functionaries. We failed to take notice of the ration riots in districts a few months back,” a committee member said.

Most mentioned the erosion in Muslim support as one of the major reasons for the setback. “The Sachar Committee report provided credibility to the community’s grievances regarding discrimination and lack of opportunities in employment and education. The community, which comprises 27 per cent of the state’s population, was sending enough signals of its mood but we failed to get it,” a central committee member said.

“In the heady days after the Assembly elections, we didn’t take notice of our defeat in Garden Reach and Ballygunge.”

The failure to strike seat-sharing deals with the front partners at the grassroots cast the die, party leaders said.

Karat is likely to address the committee tomorrow, when the party might discuss the formation of new secretariat.

Sources said transport minister Subhas Chakraborty, land minister Abdur Rezzak Mollah and former MLA Rabin Deb might find places in the party’s highest decision making body at the state level.

Three posts in the secretariat fell vacant following the death of former secretary Anil Biswas and former Citu president Chittabrata Mazumder.

Former labour minister Mohammed Amin has been elevated to the politburo, the party’s highest decision-making body at the national level, from the state secretariat.