• Why did a municipal poll in Haldia hog national attention?

The proximity of Haldia to Nandigram was one of the reasons why this poll seemed to be more than just another municipal election. It may be recalled that the West Bengal government had proposed to acquire 10,000 acres of land in Nandigram as part of an SEZ. It was stalled following resistance by villagers that resulted in police firing on March 14 in which 14 were killed.

Geographically, Haldia is just across the Haldi river from Nandigram and the people here are heavily dependent on the port town for livelihood. The March 14 police firing in Nandigram was an important issue in the Haldia polls.

• Is there another reason why Haldia is politically significant today?

Haldia occupies an important position in the state’s industrial development plan. It is Bengal’s second port after Kolkata, designed to handle container cargo. It has also emerged as a hub of the chemical and petrochemical industries. The state considers this a promising sector in the context of national and global demands.

With its existing industrial units and potential for rapid growth in the future, Haldia is being considered as a site for a major chemical SEZ. The idea got a further boost when the government of India selected the Haldia region for setting up a Petroleum, Chemical, Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR) covering over 62,000 acres.

The existing chemical and petrochemical units in Haldia already cover much of this 62,000 acres. The state government needs to identify about 10,000 acres more to seal the deal for which there are competitors. Accordingly, the state government has engaged M/s Dalal Mott Macdonald (DMM) through the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation to prepare a detailed project report for submission to GOI. It is at this point that the state got entangled in the Nandigram fiasco. It is still trying to wriggle out of it.

• What exactly is a PCPIR? And why should Haldia qualify?

A Petroleum, Chemical, Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR) envisages the growth of industrial clusters of chemical and petrochemical units both in large and SME segment along with port, rail and road connectivity. The state feels that Haldia is a natural choice for this because of the existing units like Haldia Petrochemicals Limited, a Bengal government initiative with joint sector partners, the second largest petrochemical complex in India. Other existing units include the Japanese-owned Mitsubishi Chemicals and Corporation, the South Asian Petrochemicals Limited — a subsidiary of Dhunseri Group, Indian Oil Corporation and Tata Chemicals. Therefore, Haldia occupies a critical space in the state’s industrial development plan. Moreover, the Indian Oil Corporation has agreed to become the anchor investor in Haldia PCPIR. Support for infrastructure linkages is assured by the government of India.

• Why did the municipal poll become significant vis a vis these industrial plans?

An adverse outcome in the municipal election would have upset the state’s plans regarding Haldia. The state needs to identify 10,000 acres of land close to Haldia to qualify for the PCPIR project.

After the setback in Nandigram, it was important for the ruling Left Front to win the Haldia municipal polls convincingly to ensure that its plan of a PCPIR did not get derailed. The poll victory gives the Left Front some confidence to go about the crucial task of identifying 10,000 acres of land which is a pre-requisite for the nod from the government of India for the PCPIR. The LF has already started projecting the outcome as an approval for its industrial growth plan for Haldia.

• Did the politics of ‘Mahajot’ affect the outcome of the poll?

It was largely because of the Mahajot that the opposition wrested seven seats from the ruling front. A coalition of various forces that stood against the might of the CPM government in Nandigram was extended to the political level. A combination of the Congress, Trinamool Congress, BJP and Jamat-e-Ulema Hind ensured a one-to-one fight against CPM and CPI candidates.

Significantly, the Jamat tasted success in this politics of Mahajot, opening its account with a single victory. It has already sent feelers to Mamata Banerjee for a tie-up in the panchayat polls, mid-2008. Should Muslims, who constitute over 30 per cent of the vote in the state, act as a strategic and coherent force, it can cause a headache for many, not excluding the Marxists.