Samiti president Bikas Mukherjee garlands the bust of Netaji at Aambagan ground. Picture by Bhola Prasad

Jamshedpur, Jan. 23 : As men in khadi trooped in Aam Bagan ground to pay their respect to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on his birth anniversary, people couldn?t help but wonder the motive behind it.

The function was organised by Bangabhasi Samanvaya Samiti, (an umbrella organisation of 42 Bengali associations).

Cutting across party lines, politicians ? most of them in the poll fray, flocked to the venue with their supporters to pay homage to the great leader, even though most of them were not invited. Some politicians even took part in a grand procession taken out on the occasion.

Some of the netas who took part in the celebration included sitting legislator and the RJD nominee from Jamshedpur West Assembly constituency M.P. Singh, Ajsu candidate from Jamshedpur East Alpana Bose, Hidayat Khan and Mohan Karmakar ? both JMM rebel candidates likely to contest the election from Jamshedpur (West) constituency as Independents.

The chairman of the state minority commission, Nirmal Chatterjee, who is associated with the BJP, was a surprise visitor at the function.

Bangabhasi Samanvaya Samiti members said they had never seen such enthusiasm among the politicians during Netaji?s birth anniversary function, which is being organised by the samiti since its inception in 2000.

?We were surprised to find so many politicians at the function. They had come on their own hoping to utilise the platform to woo Bengali voters. But, nobody was allowed to speak at the function,? said the samiti members.

Samiti president Bikas Mukherjee said except for JMM MP from Jamshedpur Sunil Mahato, none of the leaders was invited to the function.

He added, ?It?s good that they turned up to pay tributes to Netaji. But we feel that with election round the corner, the candidates are trying their best to gather support of Bengali voters, which constitutes a major vote bank.?

There are over a lakh of Bengali-speaking population in the city. Some of the leaders said the

Bengali-speaking electorate will play a crucial role in deciding the fate of the candidates, as they had done during Lok Sabha polls.

Mahato said, ?No party can afford to ignore Bengalis during elections. I too feel that with election around the corner, some of the leaders turned up to pay tributes to Subash Chandra Bose to woo the Bengali voters.?

But the Jamshedpur West RJD nominee and former Assembly Speaker MP Singh denied that his presence at the function was to get political mileage.

?It was I who sanctioned the necessary funds from the MLA quota to install Netaji?s bust at the Aam Bagan ground. As a bonafed citizen, I have all the right to participate in the birth anniversary celebration of the leader who played an important role in the country?s freedom struggle,? said Singh.