While the Tatas said on Monday that they would not resume work at the Singur plant until there was clarity on the talks between the Government and the Trinamool Congress over return of land, there is at least one person who has gained from the imbroglio brought upon by Mamata Banerjee: Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi.

Not more than three months ago, CPI(M) state secretary Biman Bose had lambasted Gandhi, saying “the post of the Governor should be abolished”. On Sunday, as he brokered a truce between the Left Front Government and Mamata, that tune had changed. “We are happy with the talks chaired by the Governor,” Bose was heard saying during the dialogue mediated by Gandhi.

While Gandhi and the CPI(M) have shared a rocky relationship for more than a year now — since the Governor’s sharp reaction over the March 14 police firing in Nandigram that left more than a dozen dead — the CPI(M) agreed to his role as a mediator after having failed to get through to Mamata.

Since Mamata began her sit-in at Singur on August 24, several top CPI(M) leaders, including Jyoti Basu, had appealed to her to come to the negotiating table. However, the Trinamool leader couldn’t afford to be seen as meeting halfway a party she lives to oppose. Governor Gandhi stepped in to bridge the gap.

The CPI(M) too was veering around to the idea of talks as it didn’t relish the idea of Mamata’s agitation dragging, giving her an opportunity to project herself as the real champion of West Bengal farmers.

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