Saptarshi Deb is perhaps the only candidate fielded by a major party to stay in New Town (BF Block). He also seems to be the only one in the fray whose campaign has a lot of focus on the township. Over to the 38-year-old who is fighting his second election.

Q. What issues are you highlighting in New Town?

The IT sector did not take off. The Infosys project was ideated and initiated during Left Front regime. The BIMARU states are overtaking us in economic markers. Corruption has infiltrated every sector. This government’s only focus is on doles and religion. We want to talk about inflation and social infrastructure. A prime commercial plot was given away for Durga Angan. We are not against temples but a few hundred crores of taxpayer’s money will be spent on this when the township has neither an English medium government school nor a public hospital. The location is also impractical — right at the entry point to New Town. Has the possibility of a traffic bottleneck been considered?

Q. Your father Gautam Deb (the then housing minister and chairman of Hidco) was a key figure in the development of the township. Are you noticing shifts from the masterplan?

Shohortai hoto na jodi Bam Front na thakto (The township wouldn’t have come up if Left Front wasn’t there. The land-use pattern is being changed. Minimum 30 per cent land was supposed to be free. The open spaces kept for community activities are being segregated into plots and sold off by Hidco.

Q. What promises are you making?

Other than an English medium public school and a hospital, we want community centres in every block, like in Salt Lake. Also, there needs to be a helpline dedicated to senior citizens. During the pandemic, we noticed the vulnerabilities of those whose children stay away. We served them as Red Army volunteers. The fares of totos need to be regulated. Incidentally, all the autos are carrying Tapash Chatterjee’s publicity material. Are these costs being reported to the Election Commission?

Also, a smart city like New Town can’t be under a panchayat. That needs to be rectified. We all know how citizens’ right to vote was held at ransom during the last panchayat election. The MLA did not say a single word in criticism. The MP apologised when she came here to campaign, but not Tapash Chatterjee. That means he was complicit in the plan. The area on the Hidco boundary fringes — Ramakrishnapalli, Gouranganagar, Baliguri etc — needs to be a separate municipality as highrises are coming up there. Traffic volume is rising while the aquifer level is sinking. Managing all this is not a panchayat’s job.

Q. Is the CPM in contention in what is being shown as a TMC-BJP face-off?

The demography of Rajarhat (sizeable Muslim population) is such that BJP can’t win. So for voters disgruntled with Trinamul, we are the only option.