Singur

Nearly two decades after Tata Motors withdrew its Nano car project from Singur, the constituency remains caught between abandoned industrial hopes and farmland that many locals say never fully recovered.

In 2008, Tata Motors scrapped plans for its small-car factory after prolonged protests over land acquisition. The decision reshaped West Bengal politics, weakening the long-ruling Left Front and helping Mamata Banerjee rise to power in 2011 on the strength of the Singur and Nandigram agitations.

Eighteen years later, many residents say Singur is still paying the price. Some farmers claim returned land is difficult to cultivate due to debris, damaged soil and remnants of the unfinished factory structure. Large stretches of land reportedly remain unused or overgrown.

Former TMC MLA Rabindranath Bhattacharya said the area lost both agriculture and industry. Several residents echoed similar frustration, saying the land that once supported paddy, vegetables and other crops no longer provides the same livelihood.

Some who once opposed the project now openly regret it. Former activists and local residents said they had believed industry should not come up on fertile land, but now feel the loss of jobs and investment has hurt younger generations most. Many trained for factory work but later moved into informal jobs, call centres, transport work or migrated outside the state.

One resident said her family got its land back after the Supreme Court of India 2016 order returning land to unwilling farmers, but the plot was no longer suitable for farming.

As the second phase of the assembly election approaches on April 29, Singur has once again become politically significant. Despite visible discontent, it remains a stronghold of the ruling All India Trinamool Congress, which has won the seat repeatedly. In 2021, TMC’s Becharam Manna defeated Bhattacharya, then contesting on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket.

Manna said people still remember who stood with them when land was being acquired and pointed to roads, welfare schemes and compensation delivered over the years.

The BJP, however, argues the mood is shifting. Local leaders say Singur once voted to protect land, but this time voters may prioritise jobs and economic revival.

Both major parties face a dilemma. For the TMC, aggressively pitching industrialisation risks reopening memories of the anti-acquisition movement that brought it power. For the BJP, calling for new investment raises the same land acquisition questions that once damaged the Left Front.

Political observers say Singur is now divided by generation: older farmers remain wary of acquisition, middle-aged residents feel let down by politics, and younger voters want employment opportunities.

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At the old Nano site, weeds cover the abandoned grounds while scrap metal is slowly removed piece by piece — a reminder that the legacy of the failed factory continues to shape every election in Singur.