The CPI(M)’s sitting candidate Rupchand Pal was trounced by Trinamool Congress nominee Dr Ratna Nag by a margin of 81,523 votes. This result can also be read as a nod towards Mamata Banerjee’s strong stand against forcible land acquisition for industry, and for the agitation she led to drive the Tatas out of Singur.

In Singur Assembly segment, Trinamool not only outdid the CPI(M) by over 22,000 votes, but also increased its tally from the 2006 Assembly polls. Rabindranath Bhattacharjee of Trinamool had defeated CPI(M)’s Srikanto Chatterjee by a margin of 17,027 votes in 2006, which means Trinamool won over 5,000 more votes this time. Also, Trinamool even did better than the last panchayat elections in 2008, when it had won the majority of panchayat seats.

Muhammed Ismail, 40, a daily wage earner says, “They murdered the girl and garlanded the accused. The CPI(M) destroyed agricultureand failed to set up the factory. Now we hope that Mamata will clean up the mess.”

In political circles here, it is believed that the CPI(M)’s bid to campaign with Suhrid Dutta, who was bailed out just before the elections, backfired. Dutta and another accomplice were convicted of the murder of Tapasi by a lower court, but the Calcutta High Court granted them bail. Dutta then became the main campaign manager for the CPI(M) in Singur. The move, CPI(M) top brass accept, was a mistake. Balai Sabui, the CPI(M) district committee member in charge of Singur said, “People did not accept Suhrid Dutta. Our approach in handling the entire factory issue will have to be re-evaluated. Setiments about Tapasi Malik’s death worked more than industrialisation.”

At their Bajemelia home, Tapasi’s parents Monoranjan and Molina Malik feel vindicated. “People have given their verdict. The CPI(M) showcased a murder accused, they took out a CD tarnishing my daughter’s image,” said Monoranjan, who campaigned for Trinamool.

A section of youth, whose hopes for jobs in the car factory were dashed, have also started blaming the Left Government rather than Mamata Banerjee. “I used to work in the factory and now I’m jobless. The state Government failed to keep the industry. Why blame Mamata? She said, ‘let’s have the industry in 600 acres’,” said Monimohan Bangal, 27, whose family had accepted compensation for their land from Tata.

Bolstered by their victory, Trinamool leaders in Singur are preparing for a renewed agitation. “The people here, especially SCs and Muslims, voted for us, overpowering the CPI(M)’s campaign of labelling Mamata Banerjee as anti-industry,” said Becharam Manna, party pointsman in Singur. “Next month, we will restart our agitation against forcible land acquisition for industry here.”