• 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.