Before Buddha smiles

A bout of thunderous applause from the small gathering that followed the announcement did not capture the true spirit of that night. Because the small crowd of committed supporters around the dharna manch had some disturbing questions: Was it victory? Was it defeat?

Certainly, Mamata Banerjee8217;s 26-day old fast did not bring her mighty opponents to their knees. There is absolutely no slump in the work on the Tata Motors car project that has already entered the next phase after land acquisition 8212; topography study and soil testing before structures begin to come up. But she had reason to feel good. If victory or defeat was a matter of interpretation, there is no doubting that by calling off the fast she has brought relief for many 8212; the Bengal chief minister, the Tatas, the governor, the media, the administration and last but not least, Mamata8217;s own MLAs, growing restive by the day. Many of them would tell you how the various Naxalite factions, part of the 19-party conglomerate, had been holding sway, egging her on to stick to the fast. They seemed to steer the course of agitation with Didi at the front.

Seen objectively, for the first time in her political career, Mamata could break free of her image of an urban centric leader. The issue she raised 8212; of agricultural farmland being converted for industry 8212; did capture the imagination of a cross section of the people, particularly the rural segment. Though she was focused on the Tata Motors car project in Singur, the fear of losing agricultural land to industry haunts many in the rural population in Burdwan, Birbhum, Midnapore or South 24-Pargana districts. By raising farmers8217; issues Mamata Banerjee treaded a territory which till now has been the exclusive domain of the Marxists. Farmers8217; welfare has been something of a monopoly of the CPIM. In that sense, Mamata Banerjee broke new ground. This also largely explained the kind of response she got during her 26-day fast. Her audience varied from Rajnath Singh to burqa clad Muslim housewives, from Vaiko to Prafulla Mahanta, from vice chancellors like Santosh Bhattacharya to intellectuals like Amlan Dutta.

It8217;s been a bitter pill for the Marxists to digest. But then it is Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee8217;s own men who have provided the arsenal to Mamata Banerjee. Bhattacharjee did not beat a retreat on Singur but he had to do so at least twice in the recent past while dealing with his own men and Left Front partners. First, an amendment bill to the State Land Reforms Act in August 2005 that would have incorporated clauses for removing ceiling on agricultural land for purposes of 8220;commerce and industry8221; was defeated by voice vote. Unprecedented, considering the bill was brought by the treasury bench itself. There were Left leaders who feared it would facilitate 8220;corporate farming.8221; Again, during the recently concluded Winter Session, Buddha had to send to the select committee yet another amendment bill, he had mooted. This time he wanted to include 8220;commerce, industry and infrastructure projects8221; in the existing list of exempted category of industries like tea plantations, mills etc which could convert farmland for such purposes. LF constituents thought it prudent to once again send it to the Select Committee for closer scrutiny.

For Buddha the compulsion is not merely ideological. He has to show something tangible in development and industry. But to achieve what he has set out to do, he must confront opponents much more formidable, virulent and scheming than Mamata: his own partymen. It will be more difficult to break their feudal mindset over land than it was to break Mamata8217;s fast.