With just a week left to choose the next MP from the Barasat Lok Sabha constituency, residents are engrossed in discussions about parties, key issues, and potential outcomes.
While residents were eager to participate in this survey, most requested anonymity to speak freely. Here are the insights The Telegraph Salt Lake gathered from the interviews.
To vote or not to vote
The majority of the respondents said they would vote, some even in the face of adversity. An FE Block resident’s mother is hospitalised but he will still make his way to the municipal school to exercise his franchise.
Youngsters are keen to share pictures of their inked fingers. “I don’t know if my vote will matter, and I haven’t even decided who to vote for, but election is a day that brings the whole block together. We have a nice chat in the queue,” said an HA Block lady in her 50s.
An elderly resident of BJ Block, who lives alone, is hoping neighbours would give him a ride to the booth.
Some, however, are too disgusted with the political climate to vote. An FE Block lady has been trying to delete the names of her sons, who have migrated out of the city, for years. “But the names remain. And our caretaker’s son, who sits at the booth on behalf of a party, grins and says their votes will be cast securely. It’s cheating!” The lady wants to boycott the elections but her husband says they must, in fact, vote because they are fed up. “How else will we bring about change?” he reasons.
New Town residents are hoping they will not be chased away from booths like at the panchayat elections last year.
A Salt Lake Sector I resident has been applying for a voter card since 2017 but claims it gets sabotaged by his councilor. “My late grandfather was a staunch CPM supporter and so this TMC councilor refuses to attest my documents,” says the student studying for his GMAT.
The list of voters’ demands is long and since no single party ticks all the boxes, several of them said their choice would be made inside the polling booth. These are the major deciding issues-
Economic growth and inflation
“Should another recession hit us we will need – not blue, green or orange but - a strong government to tide us through it,” says the widow of an army officer. “My daughter is a cancer researcher in the US and when I ask her to work in India she says she will never get the kind of lab(oratory) she needs here. We need strong infrastructure to retain talent in the country.”
Eighty per cent of senior citizens spoke of inflation. “We are paying through our nose for vegetables, medicines, and private health care,” said a resident of AC Block. “The government should provide lucrative schemes for us like higher interest rates on fixed deposits.”
A 44-year-old homemaker from Salt Lake, who had no clue who the last MP was, was very vocal about the high cost of LPG cylinders and rise in prices of vegetables.
Politics of religion
More than half of the respondents said they did not want a party that divides on grounds of language, caste, and religion.
“I’ll be voting by a process of elimination this time. Even if I’m unsure who to vote for, I know who not to vote for,” says an FE Block girl in her 20s. “I don’t want a party that spreads hatred to come to power.”
An IT sector employee of CF Block said he did not want a government that is communal and that looks down upon Bengalis. “Our roads are in atrocious state, the Bengal administration is hardly up to the mark, but is that an excuse to invite communalists?” he asked.
A Hindi-speaking businessman from New Town’s CE Block says religion mustn’t be clubbed with politics. “Neither must any community be appeased nor pushed to a wall. Don’t work for Hindus or Muslims, work for Indians,” he said. “Many businessmen are blind supporters of a certain party. But only Duryodhanas will be born to such blind parents,” says the man whom both leading parties have courted. “If a party cannot earn my vote I won’t shy away from the Nota button.”
Some residents say the state government is biased towards minorities. “Salt Lake has the largest Dussehra celebration in town but the chief minister has never graced it despite invites. Yet she attends the smallest of iftar parties that she’s invited to,” said a Salt Lake businessman who was invited to attend the Ram temple inauguration in Ayodhya earlier this year. To him, the most important issue is business-friendly policies.
Education and unemployment
“We know corruption has spread to every level and sphere, but they could have at least spared education,” sighs a CD Block resident who has a middle-school going son. “With more than 20,000 teachers’ recruitment now canceled, what will happen to this generation of students? And what could these children have been learning from teachers who conned their way to classrooms? The teaching of the frauds must have been sub-standard.”
A college teacher from AD Block rued the degeneration of the education system. “We teachers are made to do more clerical jobs and less teaching. Especially since the lockdown, we spend more time filling up forms and writing reports than meeting students face-to-face. The students who pass out of this system get no jobs and even if they get any, there is nothing called job security anymore.”
A 26-year-old engineer from Labony Estate is worried about the unemployment situation. “Such is the state of primary education that there are more and more dropouts who are joining the growing number of unskilled labourers. So the education system needs to be overhauled to ensure upskilling and employability of students,” he said.
A young lawyer says classes were never held at the government law college he attended. “We had to study by ourselves. And now with the state of the economy, many lawyers are forced to work as app bike drivers after hours,” says the man who lives near City Centre.
Misuse of money
“There was a time when going to jail was shocking for civil society. People lost their jobs if they had a criminal stain,” says a New Town CD Block lady in her 50s.
“But now the top bosses in the government have prison records,” she said. “And they must stop this practice of doling out free money. It only makes the beneficiaries lazy and dependent. They should be trained and made employable instead,”
Another lady from BL Block said doles were ruining the work culture of the labour class. “The good ones are leaving the state and the leftovers don’t want to work as they are getting money for doing nothing,” she says. She was also annoyed with the distribution of money to Durga puja committees when roads lay in disrepair due to lack of funds.
A Hindi-speaking voter resented being sent a leaflet addressed to “non-Bengali voters”. “Why should there be segregation like this? We are all Indians,” questioned the resident of FE Block, in whose view refugee infiltration was the biggest issue in the election. “It is shameful that political leaders are helping those who are illegally taking refuge in India get free ration sponsored by our tax money. Soon they will be sitting on our heads.”
Strong government
“A single party in power is better for the country. It ensures stability,” said a 60-year-old man from New Town, who felt development to be the biggest issue. “We are the fifth largest economy in the world, on course to move higher,” the CE Block resident added.
Others wanted to elect a government that provides security, defence, and has sound foreign and domestic policies. “We need a party which can rule the country,” said the BF Block resident.
The who’s who
Almost 20 per cent of respondents thought MLA Sujit Bose was the MP, with some even calling him “Sujit-something” and “that tall man.” A New Town resident thought the last MP was Alapan Bandyapadhyay, who is in fact, the recently appointed NKDA chief.
Only 14 per cent people knew it is Forward Bloc which had fielded a candidate on behalf of the Left Front and the INDIA alliance. Sixty-one per cent named CPM instead. Then again, 13 per cent of the respondents simply felt it a waste of breath to mention any party but the big two.
Rally next door
In New Town, the campaign pitch is muted. None of the residents spoken to had seen any party on the streets or at their doorstep. But Trinamul Congress, Salt Lake voters said, has been visible campaigning. Rallies have been noticed in many blocks. Some councilors have even gone door to door.
But not everyone wants to see any poll publicity. “Campaigns are a waste of resources. If 90 per cent of our work is online, why not reach out over the Net and finish off?” asks a lawyer. A CD Block voter was quite annoyed when he got stuck for 20 minutes behind a BJP rally at Karunamoyee.
A businessman from the mayor’s ward was invited to a TMC meeting but he left it rather cross. “I haven’t heard BJP labeling voters as Hindus and Muslims as much as they did. They were over-compensating. The irony is that when the time was ripe, their own councilors had hopped over to the BJP,” he says.
A lady who lives around Axis Mall has been consciously avoiding meetings as she doesn’t want to get branded as a sympathiser of any party. “I don’t want to take sides publicly,” she says.
A Salt Lake CE Block resident says he will probably vote for the ruling party but has been avoiding their meetings as he has no respect for the councilor, who, he thinks, is sure to be part of the rallies. “The other day our vegetable vendor was dragged out of work, a party flag was thrust in his hand, and he was made to walk in the rally. I want no part of such fake displays of support,” he says.
All said and done, Salt Lake residents felt the campaign lacked the punch of previous years. “In other years, the parties would have paid us several visits by now,” said a BC Block senior citizen. “I have noticed posters of Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar but even they are way less than usual.”
For better or for worse
“My employee who earns Rs 10,000 a month uses a smartphone that costs as much. Rickshaw drivers are accepting payment by UPI, beggars are using mobile phones....of course, India is better off today,” says a Salt Lake businessman. “So many tourists are visiting Kashmir after Article 370 got repealed. The economy there is flourishing.”
Many said they were impressed with India’s foreign policy but that domestic affairs were slack. “India has developed in the last five years but the beneficiaries have been a handful,” says one respondent.
Politics in tea cup
Men seemed to be more interested in politics, especially in the higher age groups. “If you’re concerned about your country, you’re bound to discuss politics,” says an FE Block-based doctor.
A Karunamoyee resident in his 40s said he has almost violent debates on politics with his friends, often ending with one not talking to another for days. “Sadly, it is never about which party is better but which one is worse,” he sighs.
But some steer clear of the P-word. “Even if my friends in the ladies’ club bring up such topics, I stay quiet,” said a 76-year-old lady from FD Block.
Road to nowhere
Though 70 per cent felt the state of the nation should be the decider, when it came to naming the one issue the new MP needs to address first, they spoke of the condition of roads, which happens to be a civic issue which is the responsibility of the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation or Newtown Kolkata Development Authority, depending on where one stays.
Many demand urgent repairs to the local roads, but with a key caveat: a five-year warranty. “We need a clause in the contract that holds the contractor responsible for repairs if the road breaks down within five years, at his own expense,” said a senior citizen from CK Block. “Otherwise, they’ll just be waiting for it to break again so they can charge the corporation all over again.”
A CL Block businessman wants the MP to push for ‘one nation, one election’. “It will save taxpayers’ money if all polls are doing at once,” he reasons.
A 32-year-old New Town BC Block entrepreneur wants the new MP to deal with illegal encroachment as well as increase tree cover. “Calcutta is greener than most other big metros but while they are adding greenery our green cover is on the decline. Micro climate is an issue the new MP should focus on,” he said.
Others want the MP to end lawlessness, boost the economy, and reduce inflation. “There are cottage industries besides chop-telebhaja that the government can generate jobs in,” says a doctor from CD Block in New Town.
“The air is fraught with religious tension and the MP holds the most power to address the situation,” says a 20-something from FE Block.
Many wanted transparency. “The MP should speak to residents — and not just block committee office bearers who are sycophants — to identify genuine needs. This group should be a mix of old, new, and even minors as they are the future of the country. Such meets should take place every quarter,” says an IT sector employee of BE Block.
