His no show at successive Politburo meetings after Lok Sabha elections and brief absence from the Writers Building in between had sparked murmurs that he was losing interest and grip over his government. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee seems determined to dispel that impression now. By undertaking a two-day visit to Delhi — mainly to attend the Politburo — and meeting the Prime Minister and senior ministers on the Naxalite issue, the West Bengal Chief Minister has chosen to give a message that he was still in control.

Bhattacharjee met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister P Chidambaram and significantly, got the Centre’s continued support for his campaign against Naxalites and assurance for simultaneous operations in Jharkhand.

He did not shy away from attacking Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and used phrases like “murderer” and “liar” for Maoist leader Kishenji. He alleged that Mamata was a case of “juvenile disorder” for demanding his arrest.

If Bhattacharjee reached out to allies, he made it clear he was not ready to dump the industrialisation process. Bengal needs industries for its development, but not at the cost of agriculture, he asserted. Also on his agenda was finding an alternate project for Singur, from where the Tatas shifted Nano car project, and giving land to Infosys and Wipro for their IT parks.

But it was obvious that the increasing clout of the Trinamool was weighing heavily on his mind. His attempt to mend fences with the UPA government by seeking its cooperation to take on the Naxalites and extending support to the Centre’s strategy to deal with them was clearly aimed at driving a wedge between the Trinamool and the Congress. In fact, he even got the CPM to sink its differences with the UPA on the issue.