Chief minister Mamata Banerjee is all smiles. From the stage of her rally in Nandigram’s Thakurchowk, Banerjee distributes chilly tissues amongst journalists, asking them to wipe their faces within the sweltering warmth. Earlier within the day, she has accomplished an eight-kilometre street present in a wheelchair.
The modest crowd in her street present and the rally, nevertheless, signifies that the warmth could also be attending to Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress (TMC) on this high-profile constituency.
The election right here has change into extremely polarised on the Hindu-Muslim subject. It is actually a combat between the 2 blocks in Nandigram — Block Number 1, the place the TMC seems stronger given a excessive proportion of Muslim inhabitants, and Block Number 2, which has the next Hindu inhabitants and appears to be siding with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Suvendu Adhikari.
On Monday, Banerjee held her street present and rallies in Block 2, which might clarify the modest turnout. The BJP plastered the spot from the place she started her street present with Adhikari’s posters. On Tuesday, the CM will deal with Block Number 1. Aware of the problem at hand, she is tenting in Nandigram for 3 days, largely ignoring 29 different seats that may vote on April 1 within the second spherical of the eight-phase elections in West Bengal.
TMC CONFIDENT
In an unique interview to News18, Sheikh Sufiyan, Banerjee’s election agent in Nandigram, says the CM will win by at the very least 70,000 votes. He, nevertheless, admits that “polarisation is a problem”, and accuses the BJP of turning the election “communal” in an effort to “trigger a riot”. Banerjee expressed related views at her rally at Thakurchowk.
“Suvendu Adhikari now says he is a Hindu. So what is Mamata Banerjee? Is she a Muslim? She is also a Hindu, and a Brahmin. This Hindu card will not work in Nandigram. This is an area high on literacy,” Sufiyan says. Asked in regards to the polarisation in blocks 1 and a couple of, Sufiyan provides that each blocks are strongly behind the TMC. “But the BJP has created a problem in 10-20 booths in Block Number 2,” he admits.
Sufiyan is a crucial character right here as he was a pacesetter of the Nandigram motion in opposition to land acquisition in 2007 and president of the Bhumi Ucchhed Pratirodh Committee (BUPC), which turned the face of the agitation. Asked in regards to the lack of growth within the space, he blames Adhikari, saying he was a minister within the TMC authorities and the native MLA (Adhikari received the seat on TMC ticket in 2016). “He did no work. But the direct development that Didi (as Banerjee is popularly called) brought about through various public welfare schemes — like Kanyashree, Swasthasatree, Rupashree — will work,” he says.
Sufiyan, in reality, says folks know that if Banerjee wins, Nandigram will change into a “VIP constituency of a CM”, and the unemployed will get jobs. He dismisses the BJP’s cost that CM is looking for sympathy votes after the accidents she suffered throughout campaigning within the constituency on March 10. “Her development work will get her votes. She does not seek votes on sympathy grounds,” Sufiyan says.
BJP SEES A CHANCE
Nevertheless, the BJP is changing into more and more assured that Adhikari can pull off a victory right here. On a temple go to spree within the constituency, Adhikari is chanting “Jai Sri Ram” to drive residence the purpose that Banerjee is in opposition to the slogan and that she does appeasement politics. The new BJP workplace inaugurated by Adhikari not too long ago has an enormous Lord Hanuman statute put in close to the gate. The technique appears geared toward consolidating the almost 200,000 Hindu votes within the constituency, which has a complete of 275,000 voters.
Amit Malviya, the BJP’s co-in cost for Bengal, held a sales space administration assembly in Nandigram on Monday, a day earlier than Union residence minister Amit Shah’s mega street present right here, calling for efforts to make sure that each BJP supporter seems to vote.
“We have tied the CM down to this constituency for three days. She got caught in our trap and the nervousness is showing,” a senior BJP chief says.
Nandigram can be one constituency, not like the remainder within the state, the place BJP’s major face on its posters is Adhikari, and never Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“He is very popular in the area and a young face. People like him,” one other BJP chief says.
The disagreement has additionally change into bitter right here with the TMC marketing campaign music (Chor chor chorta) terming Adhikari a thief. The BJP nominee, then again, calls CM Banerjee’s nephew, Abhishek Banerjee, “tolabaaz bhaipo (extortionist nephew)”.
The CM sharpened her assaults on Adhikari on Monday, saying she gave the Adhikaris high ministries reminiscent of irrigation and surroundings in addition to chairmanships of assorted boards, however they proved to be gaddars (traitors). Adhikari’s father, Sisir Adhikari, who’s the parliamentarian from Kanthi, too has joined the BJP.
“After the elections, the Adhikaris will remain neither here nor there,” she mentioned. “What did that gaddar do to me? He sent his men, outsiders to attack me. People of Nandigram did not do this to me, but his men did,” Banerjee mentioned in regards to the accidents she suffered.
Reaching out to the folks of Nandigram, Banerjee mentioned she appreciated how locals introduced ice for her after she acquired injured. This got here after PM Modi at his rally in neighbouring Kanti final week mentioned Banerjee defamed the folks of Nandigram by levelling false allegations on them.
On Monday, Banerjee additionally accused the Adhikaris of hatching the conspiracy that led to the police firing incident on the peak of the land agitation in Nandigram in 2007. “Cases were slapped against many leaders, but not them. Why? Because they called police and instigated. Many CPM (Communist Party of India-Marxist) cadres were wearing police uniform and fired at the villagers,” she mentioned.
THE THIRD FORCE
Left candidate Minakshi Mukherjee may show to be the joker within the pack who might harm each events on this neck-and-neck combat. Mukherjee is getting some assist from the loyal Left voters; the seat has been a Left bastion from 1982 to 2009 (barring a five-year hole when it went to the Congress). The BJP is pulling out all of the stops although, with Union residence minister Shah and star crowd-puller Mithun Chakraborty set to carry street exhibits in Nandigram on Tuesday earlier than campaigning ends for this high-profile seat.
Political observers say the Nandigram seat will settle the controversy whether or not Banerjee stays in style as a pacesetter and stands insulated from the perceived poor picture of her celebration on account of points reminiscent of cut-money (fee) and corruption. “We are not claiming that Banerjee will win by a margin of 100,000 here, but it will be comfortable win. There is no hatred among people against Didi as a person, and hence…she won’t lose the seat and people won’t vote for Suvendu when she is the candidate against him,” a TMC insider says. But the BJP feels an upset is across the nook right here.
