Lakshman Seth and his men had told the locals that their interests would be taken care of if land were to be acquired but not many believed them, resulting in desertions from the party rank and file. “Over the past two months, it was the same crisis of credibility that haunted the Save Land committee members who feared that Lakshman Seth would have the last word in Nandigram and not Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee,” said a CPM member in Chandipur near Nandigram.

In Nandigram, a CPM zonal committee member told The Indian Express that “the battle has assumed political dimensions”.

So when the state administration was told to “restore the rule of law” in Nandigram which since January had been sealed off by the Save Land Committee, the local CPM cadres followed the police to regain lost ground. This led to a pitched battle between the two sides.

In Kolkata, Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress called a 12-hour Bangla Bandh on March 16. Banerjee was on her way to Nandigram in the evening but CPM cadres had blocked the road at several points. Congress leader Subrata Mukhjerjee’s vehicle was attacked near Chandipur crossing and he was not allowed to visit Nandigram.

The vehicle carrying The Indian Express team was also attacked by local CPM cadres but no one was injured.