The CPM yesterday promised that factories would hum in Singur if the party was voted back to power, signalling that its campaign for the Assembly elections next summer would focus on Trinamul's poor track record on industry.

"Amra okhaney factory abar chalu kortey parbo. Shekhan theke dhowan orate parbo (We will be able to restart factories there, get smoke to billow from there)," Surjya Kanta Mishra told a rally at the Brigade Parade Ground Sunday afternoon that the CPM described as the biggest since its 2011 defeat. The party put the turnout at "over 8 lakh" while police estimated that it was around 4.5 lakh. The presence of youth and their active participation - they were raising slogans and cheering the speakers - was the key takeaway today, party leaders said. If voted to power, the Left government's priority would be to create jobs for "lakhs of people" across the state - from Nayachar in East Midnapore to Raghunathpur in Purulia, Mishra said.  Read more