Some of Calcutta’s richest neighbourhoods and some of the poorest stand next to each other in Ballygunge.
Few constituencies going to the polls on April 29 have as stark a contrast as Ballygunge. It is also one of the few constituencies in Bengal where the CPM, and not the BJP, came second in the last polls, although it was a by-election.
There are roads dotted with bungalows while there are areas with some of the biggest and most populated slums of the city.
Ballygunge is also one of the Calcutta constituencies with the highest number of names removed from the electoral roll since the special intensive revision (SIR) began. Opposition parties have claimed that nearly 54,000 names have been removed since the exercise began in November. As many as 27,000 of these are names deleted following adjudication.
While some people are demanding better facilities, some of their fellow citizens have been denied the basic right to vote, said a Ballygunge resident. They are getting ready for a long haul to restore their names on the electoral roll, he added.
Even the wealthier localities of Ballygunge are plagued by problems of waterlogging. “You do not need heavy rain. Waterlogging is common in parts of Gariahat, Queens Park, near Birla Mandir or at Ballygunge Place. At times, it takes more than a day for the water to be drained out,” said a resident of Cornfield Road.
“A drive through Ballygunge Place carries the risk of injury to one’s spine. The road is so undulating and bumpy. This is the condition of what is perceived to be a posh locality,” said a Ballygunge Place resident.
the congested Samsul Huda Road offer a study in contrast in the Ballygunge Assembly constituency
In terms of political clout too, Ballygunge is possibly without competition. Former chief minister and CPM leader Budhhadeb Bhattacharjee was a resident here. Former Calcutta mayor and Trinamool leader Subrata Mukherjee, often credited as an able administrator, was also a voter of Ballygunge.
“I have always heard about the legendary Subrata Mukherjee being the MLA of Ballygunge, or the legendary Rabin Deb being the MLA here during Left rule. However, my visits to some of the slums opened my eyes to the unimaginable condition in which people live there,” said Shatorupa, 55, the BJP’s candidate from Ballygunge.
“When I went to Pearabagan bustee, I saw that there were only two toilets, one each for women and men, for the hundreds of residents there. There is no enclosed bathing space. Women and men, not even related to each other, have to take a bath next to each other, forced to abandon any privacy and dignity,” she added.
After Subrata’s death in November 2021, Trinamool candidate and singer Babul Supriyo defeated CPM’s Saira Shah Halim in the by-election by 20,228 votes. Supriyo has not been re-nominated from Ballygunge and is now a Rajya Sabha member of the party.
In his place, Trinamool has picked old guard Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay.
The octogenarian Sobhandeb told The Telegraph he has reached almost every door in his campaign. “I have promised to upgrade the infrastructure of Park Circus Maidan, where hundreds come for morning walks and local youths play. There is a problem of potable water shortage and poor roads in some places. Although these are issues that have to be tackled by the councillors primarily, I have promised to take them up and improve the condition,” Sobhandeb, 82, said.
He said that during his visits to the relatively better-off places of the constituency, no resident complained to him about anything. “They only wanted me to come back again,” he said.
The CPM has fielded the young Afreen Begum as its candidate from Ballygunge. Afreen, 29, said in her campaign that she had asked those who are on the voters’ list to remember the treatment meted out to some of their friends, relatives and neighbours in the name of the SIR.
“Our party created help desks and aided people to file appeals before the tribunals,” she said.
Afreen also drew attention to the absence of basic amenities such as clean and adequate number of toilets in slums. She promised to create restrooms for working women and set up an AI training hub that would impart skills to young people about to enter the job market.
Comprising seven wards of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, about 1.95 lakh voters in Ballygunge will elect their next MLA on Wednesday.
Ballygunge votes today