Stung by its worst ever poll performance, the Left Front government is adopting corrective measures and has decided not to reinstate Lakshman Seth, former CPI(M) MP from Tamluk Lok Sabha constituency, which includes Nandigram, as chairman of the Haldia Development Authority (HDA).
Ashok Bhattacharya, state urban development minister, confirmed that Seth would not be reinstated. Seth had submitted his resignation from the post of HDA chairman before the Lok Sabha election, as was customary.
HDA is an autonomous body constituted under West Bengal & Country Planning Act and is in the jurisdiction of the urban development ministry.
“He has lost the seat. Legally we could have reinstated him, but we have decided not to. The chief minister will decide who will take charge of HDA,” said Bhattacharya. Seth lost the seat to Trinamool Congress’ Subhendu Adhikari by around 1.2 lakh votes.
The move to remove Seth from HDA assumes significance as Seth was largely held responsible for the violence in Nandigram in 2007, one of the reasons behind the Left debacle in the elections. Prior to the Lok Sabha elections a section of the Left Front felt that Seth should not contest the elections.
The CPI(M) state committee meeting on May 24 resolved to win back the support of the people that the party had lost. The CPI(M) won nine of the 32 Lok Sabha seats that it contested, its worst poll performance.
Almost as a course correction, chief minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, today spent the entire day visiting Sunderbans, worst hit by yesterday’s cyclonic storm.
He met the people in the relief camps, as well as the administration authorities and police to take stock of the situation.
Trinamool Congress leader, Mamata Banerjee, also rushed to Kakdwip in South 24 Parganas to assess the damage caused by the storm.
