Kolkata:
In the midst of what's being described as the toughest battle of his career, West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today said that Singur and Nandigram were his government's biggest mistakes.
Speaking to NDTV in Kolkata, Mr Bhattacharjee conceded that the shadow of violence in the two places over land acquisition and industrialisation loomed large over the ongoing Assembly elections.
The state is witnessing the first phase of polling today.
Dubbing the police firing in Nandigram as unfortunate, the chief minister admitted to mistakes made by his government and called for the need to rectify them.
Speaking further on the matter, Mr Bhattacharje said that there was confusion over the land acquisition policy which had triggered unrest among the villagers in the two areas.
He also claimed that his government had revised the land acquisition policy.
The chief minister's candid admission of mistakes comes at a time when the opposition, led by the Trinamool Congress, is aiming to unseat the ruling CPI(M)-led Left Front government after over three decades in power.
The Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool handed a series of setbacks to the Left with thumping wins in first in the Panchayat, Lok Sabha and subsequently in the Municipal elections last year.