A month before polling day, Sujit Bose entered Salt Lake to the beat of drums, the swirl of dancers and slogans that often sounded more celebratory than combative.
His first road show in the township on March 29 carried little of the edge usually associated with an election campaign. Instead, there was the ease of a familiar political ritual, staged amid colour, music and a crowd assembled well before the candidate arrived.
The outgoing MLA and minister is seeking re-election for a fifth term from a constituency spread across 14 wards of Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation and 10 wards of South Dum Dum Municipality.
Sunday showtime
The crowd began gathering from 9.15am, as troupes of dancers and drummers reported to the event manager from as far as Jhargram, Debra and Machhlandapur. They were to lead the rally.
The only city-based troupe among them was Mridangalahari, led by percussionist Debashis Banerjee, a resident of Garia, who stood out amid 35 mridanga players with his bushy hair. “Chaitanya Mahaprabhu used to sing on the streets playing the sreekhol, chanting the Lord’s name. Sujitda ke bhalobashi, tai esechhi,” he said.
About 20 women in blue saris carried pitchers on their heads, each marked Lakshmir Bhandar, invoking the monthly dole scheme for women introduced by the Mamata Banerjee government.
Among them, Srimati Murmu drew the most attention. She had been trained to balance 22 aluminium handis stacked atop one another on her head. “Only one in a hundred women has such a gift of balance,” said group leader Ram Pal from Debra, beaming with pride.
A ranyist wears a customised T-shirt blaming the Central government for the gas scarcity
Junaram Hansda had arrived from Jhargram carrying his madol, accompanied by six teammates playing madols, chorachoris and two dhamsas.
Cutouts bearing Bose’s face were distributed through the crowd. Another batch of placards showed him against the backdrop of the Sreebhumi clock tower he had built. When a man attempted to hand out umbrellas bearing the party symbol, he was immediately mobbed and the umbrellas vanished within moments.
Two music systems blared simultaneously, one drowning out the other. One song declared: Jotoi koro hamla, abar jeetbe Bangla / Bhag korechho dhormo diye, bhashar opomoney / Lorai holey jawab ditey ei Banglao janey... The louder one was more personalised: Sujitdar joy maney sadharoner joy / Tomar ekar cheshtay Bidhannagar sreshtha...
Bose arrived around 10.20am. “Baba came after completing his daily morning puja,” his son Samudra told The Telegraph Salt Lake, referring to the Kali idol installed at Bose’s Sreebhumi residence.
By the time Bose walked to an open jeep near Gate 2, at the entry to Salt Lake in AA Block, flanked by loyalists Ranjan Poddar and Rajesh Chirimar — both councillors from Salt Lake — the head of the rally had reached PNB Island.
“Bidhannagar bolchhe, Sujit da jeetchhe,” roared the crowd as the procession began moving.
Throughout the route, Bose repeatedly invoked the bond of trust he claimed to share with voters. “Apnader songe amar biswaser somporko,” he said, waving at residents on verandahs and occasionally calling out to familiar faces.
The rally moved down First Avenue, already lined with hoardings and banners seeking votes for him, before ending around 12.30pm at Baisakhi.
saltlake@abp.in
