Tackling the chronic waterlogging problem in Behala, revamping Vidyasagar State General Hospital and preventing post-poll violence are among the top priorities of the young doctor who has ended Trinamool’s 25-year dominance in the Behala West constituency.
The BJP’s Indranil Khan, a 37-year-old clinical oncologist, accomplished the daunting mission with surgical precision.
The BJP won all 10 wards that make up Behala West, a seat held since 2001 by former education minister Partha Chatterjee.
Many voters in Behala said the electoral outcome was partly linked to the “shame” Chatterjee brought upon the constituency through the school recruitment scam.
This time, the Trinamool Congress fielded Ratna Chatterjee, former MLA from Behala East and estranged wife of former mayor Sovan Chatterjee. Khan defeated Ratna by nearly 25,000 votes. “Since the day I was given the ticket, I had just one focus: Behala West. I set everything else aside. I was hoping for a BJP victory in Bengal; however, my efforts were focused only on winning my Assembly seat,” Khan told Metro at his apartment in Raidighi — just over a kilometre from Behala Chowrasta.
Election won, Khan said his job has just begun.
A facelift of the Vidysagar State General Hospital would be among his top priorities. “There is no angioplasty facility. There is no cancer treatment facility,” he said.
The underground drainage network, which has plagued Behala for decades, will also be upgraded to reduce waterlogging, said Khan. But his immediate focus was to prevent post-poll violence.
As he was talking with this reporter, Khan received a call from a police officer. “Please don’t see the political colours of criminals. Take the help of central forces if you want,” he said on the phone.
Khan, a bachelor who lives with his parents, was born in Ballygunge and spent his formative years in Batanagar on the city’s southwestern fringes. His father is also a doctor. Khan completed his MBBS from North Bengal Medical College and his MD from Medical College Kolkata. He is associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of the RSS.
“I was aware of the challenge I was up against. But as the campaigning progressed, my confidence kept growing. People were fed up with Trinamool’s corruption and arrogance,” Khan said.
On average, he walked nearly 15km every day.
Khan’s social media profiles are flooded with his campaign vignettes reflecting the chord he struck with people. Many people emerged from their homes to greet him. As he moved, families flocked to balconies or terraces to wave at him.
The month-long campaign culminated in a massive roadshow led by Union home minister Amit Shah. Before that, Union health minister and former BJP national president J.P. Nadda had also campaigned for Khan.
Behala West had an electorate of just under 300,000 in 2021, with Trinamool winning the seat by over 50,000 votes. In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Trinamool lead from Behala West — part of the Kolkata South parliamentary constituency — was around 15,000. This time, the electorate stood at just over 266,000.
“We emphasised door-to-door campaigns. We reached out to every housing complex. The result validated our efforts. He got 80-90% of the votes in almost every housing society,” said Uday Bandyopadhyay, Khan’s chief election agent and the former headmaster of Sarsuna High School.
Ratna, the Trinamool candidate, suffered heavy losses even in her own ward.
A private bank employee living in Parnasree, who voted Trinamool even in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, chose the BJP this time.
“The choice was easy this time. On one side was Trinamool, synonymous with corruption. Their candidate is best remembered for fights with her estranged husband and his girlfriend on television. On the other side was the BJP, which promised good governance. Their candidate is an accomplished professional — intelligent and articulate. We need more such people in politics,” said the voter, who requested anonymity.