On Friday, Sen was not available for comment but many of his Left comrades admitted in private that if she can get even half of her West Bengal proposals through, that would help her politically. Officially, however, Left Front chairman Biman Bose said: “It’s a mixed budget with a clear direction towards privatization. It will help capitalists.”

Ironically, PSU takeover has been the Left’s trademark slogan for over 25 years since the mid ‘80s in Bengal and Banerjee seems to have stolen that thunder. Sources said that via her proposal to build world-class stations through PPP, she is trying to “project a pro-development image,” in an attempt to undo the damage caused by Tata Nano’s exit to Gujarat. Some officials described the proposal of using Railway land for industrial projects as her “alternative model” to Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s.

In announcing rolling stock production and assembly facilities and coach rehabilitation at Dankuni, Majerhat and Naopara in Bengal, Banerjee, in fact, gifted four production units to her home state.

“These units will manufacture components for diesel and electric locomotives and will be set up at a cost of around Rs 500 crore,” senior Railway ministry officials said. They added that these units could be set up either through Public Private Partnership or by the Railways itself. While the unit in Dankuni will manufacture components for electric locomotives, the one in Naopara will deal with mid-life coach rehabilitation. The one in Majerhat may manufacture bogies for wagons.