Central committee member Brinda Karat in Calcutta. (Sanat Kumar Sinha)

Calcutta, Oct. 13: The state CPM leadership told the party central committee today the government’s success in preventing a re-run of the Nandigram violence in Singur would help it regain its support base in the general election.

Sources said leaders like Benoy Konar, Surjya Kanta Mishra and Banani Biswas explained to the rest of the committee the government’s moves in the wake of Mamata Banerjee’s agitation in Singur.

“Mamata wanted heaps of bodies in Singur before the polls. But we knew it would neither help us nor the Tatas,” MP Mohammad Salim said.

The “restraint” shown to avoid clashes with the Opposition — in contrast to Mamata’s “unreasonable stand” — would help build public opinion in support of the government’s pro-industry moves in the future, the Bengal brigade said.

Leaders from other states who had earlier raised questions on the police firing in Nandigram, which embarrassed the party nationally, today praised the restraint.

Some of them went into the “political implications of the project’s relocation to the BJP-ruled Gujarat, helped by NDA-ally Mamata” and said the party should highlight the “Mamata-Modi nexus”.

Such a campaign, the leaders felt, would help offset the feared erosion of minority votes after the bloodshed in Nandigram.

The party is gearing up to take on both Trinamul and the Congress in its Lok Sabha poll campaign. “We know the Congress and Trinamul will go for an alliance,’’ said Konar.

Several members expressed unhappiness over the Tatas’ “hasty” decision to shift the project despite the government’s “best efforts” to help them and promise of security.

Some of them said the government should urge the Tatas to come up with another project at the Nano site or initiate talks with other groups to set up another industry on the acquired land.

The criticism of the Tatas was in tune with politburo member Sitaram Yechury’s editorial in the party organ People’s Democracy, where he accused them of being “unreasonable” like Mamata.

“Yechury reflected the feelings of the party as well as chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. Ratan Tata could have waited a little longer. The situation was not bad enough to say goodbye,” said a leader from Bengal.

Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi, too, drew flak for his role during the government’s talks with Mamata. Many felt he actually helped her, though some also appreciated his efforts. “He must be feeling bad now that the Tatas have left,’’ said one of them.