2007 Nandigram violence: Redness of dusk for CPI(M)

West Bengal BJP leader and LoP Suvendu Adhikari on November 10 observed the 16th Anniversary of the Nandigram Movement, widely referred to as ‘Blood-bathed Sunrise,’ and paid his tribute to the ‘martyrs’ of the movement at the iconic Shaheed Minar, in Kolkata. 

Taking to X, formerly Twitter, the BJP lawmaker said, "On the 16th Anniversary of the Nandigram Movement's "Blood-bathed Sunrise", I bowed down to the Martyrs' Memorial to pay my respects & floral tributes to the Martyrs of the Nandigram Movement at the Shaheed Minar." 

BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari at Shaheed Minar, paying tribute to ‘martyrs’ of Nandigram movement | Image: X

2007 Nandigram violence

At least 14 villagers, including two women, were shot dead in police firing in Nandigram, a town in West Bengal’s Purba Medinipur district, on March 14, 2007. Serving high on the Left Government's 30 years of rule, then Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya ordered the police force to prevent the unrest soaring in the district after rumours of land acquisition by the Left government to set up a chemical hub. 

The killings of the 14 villagers triggered nothing else but a civil war-like situation that lasted for over one and a half years and themed the end of the Bhattacharya government in Bengal. The killings surrounded Left-wing politics with controversy as several reports claimed that the bullets used by police were found to be used in widespread criminal use. Allegations were that several CPI(M) cadres marched with the police force, unofficially, to capture the unrest in Nandigram. 

In November 2007, a fresh wave of violence erupted when the displaced villagers returned to their homes in Nandigram, clashing with the CPI(M) cadres. The ruling party's response to the villagers' return resulted in further violence. The CPI(M) leadership justified the actions, with the state chairman characterising it as "a new dawn," and the CM saying that "They (farmers and Trinamool activists) have been paid back in their own coin."

The voters of Nandigram reacted against the government's policy of industrialisation through farmland acquisition. For the first time since the Left Front government came to power, the opposition (TMC) gained control of the East Midnapore zilla parishad by winning 35 out of 53 seats on 11 May 2008. 

Redness of dusk for CPI(M)

In the 2006 Assembly election, the Left Front secured a thumping victory, winning 235 out of 294 seats, thanks in part to Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's commitment to industrial growth. 

The opposition, led by Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, suffered a severe setback. However, the landscape of West Bengal politics underwent a dramatic shift following the police firing incident in Nandigram, which brought the issue of forced land acquisition to the forefront. 

Prior to this, Mamata Banerjee had already championed the cause of the Singur farmers in Hooghly district, who were protesting the expropriation of their land for the Tata Motors Small Car Project. She made a historic 26-day hunger strike in Kolkata in December 2006 in support of their cause.

Following the Singur and Nandigram movement, in which the TMC advocated for the rights of the farmers, came the 2011 Assembly elections, which saw massive decline of Left's voter base in Bengal. 

In the 2011 legislative assembly election, incumbent Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, not only lost his own seat but also led to the Left Front's loss of power after a 34-year-long rule. 

Mamata Banerjee and her All India Trinamool Congress capitalised on the issues of Singur and Nandigram, along with their slogan, "Ma Mati Manush" (Mother, Land, and People), in their election campaigns. 

Firoza Bibi, a candidate from the All India Trinamool Congress (whose son had tragically lost his life during the violence), secured victory in the Nandigram assembly by-election with a significant margin of 39,551 votes, defeating the Left Front candidate, Paramananda Bharati.