Mamata Banerjee campaigned in Bhabanipur on Monday evening with a series of visits to housing complexes along Shakespeare Sarani, interacting with residents ahead of the April 29 poll.
The chief minister and Trinamool Congress supremo struck a personal note, recalling her familiarity with the neighbourhood since her student days. At Dimple Court on Shakespeare Sarani, she spoke about pursuing her BEd at Shri Shikshayatan College and “practice teaching” at Sakhawat Memorial Government Girls’ High School. She also reminisced about enjoying bhelpuri on Lord Sinha Road.
This was her first round of door-to-door outreach in the constituency this season. The sitting MLA from Bhabanipur had begun her campaign on Sunday with a meeting with voters from different communities at Ladies Park in the constituency.
On Monday, her first stop was Ganga Jamuna, a housing complex on Shakespeare Sarani. Rohit Goyal, a businessman and resident, said Mamata emphasised harmony. “She said we all live in peace and that there is nothing like a non-Bengali — we are all residents of Bengal,” he said, adding that her previous visit to the complex was before the 2011 Assembly elections that brought her to power in the state.
Mayor Firhad Hakim and other Trinamool leaders accompanied Mamata during Monday’s visits. Industrialist C.K. Dhanuka, chairman of Dhunseri Tea and Industries, was also present.
Residents at the complexes arranged chairs for Mamata and her team, sitting around her in a semi-circle as she held relaxed conversations with them. She was jovial, occasionally cracking jokes. Sources said she also visited apartments on Lord Sinha Road and planned to cover eight housing complexes during the outreach.
Trinamool’s poll managers said such direct interaction could consolidate support in parts of Bhabanipur where the BJP has been making inroads. They said personal interaction with the chief minister could sway undecided voters.
Before the visits, Mamata addressed a brief roadside meeting opposite Shakespeare Sarani police station, urging residents to back her. She took aim at the BJP, referring to the recent defeat of the Centre’s delimitation bill in Parliament. “You may have voted for them in the elections for Delhi (Lok Sabha), but day before yesterday they lost in the Lok Sabha,” she said, adding that the Centre was running a “minority government”.
Mamata is contesting against her former colleague and current leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari. While Suvendu has held small rallies and conducted door-to-door visits in the constituency, Mamata had, until now, focused largely on districts going to polls in the first phase on April 23.
Even on Monday, she campaigned for party candidates in Murarai in Birbhum district, Khardaha in North 24-Parganas, and parts of Beleghata in Calcutta before heading to Bhabanipur.
Addressing the local business community, Mamata alleged that central agencies such as the ED, CBI and IT department were being used to target and intimidate business owners. “They have unleashed a reign of tyranny. I will ensure there is no attack on your businesses by the ED, CBI or IT,” she said at the roadside meeting.
“After winning Bengal, our target is Delhi,” she added before beginning her rounds of residential complexes.
Calcutta will vote in the second phase on April 29.