The BJP-called bandh on Wednesday appeared to split Calcutta down the middle, pockets of the old city in the north popping the strike sleeping pill even as the south went about its business with gusto.

Around 10am, looking at the office crowd streaming into Tollygunge Metro station, it was hard to imagine another part of the city in slumber. Outside the station, buses, taxis and autorickshaws caused the usual traffic frenzy of a weekday morning.

At Ultadanga, around 18km away, the scene was quite the opposite. Gone was the chaos that commuters have to navigate through every day. Fewer autorickshaws were parked on either flank and several shops around the railway station there were shut.

According to a mid-level BJP leader, the north-south contrast mirrored the party’s strength in one part of the city and its relative failure to make inroads into another.

The BJP’s state head office is located in Muralidhar Sen Lane, off CR Avenue, and it has a sizeable presence in Burrabazar, Girish Park, Shyambazar and the nearby areas. “We can assemble supporters in these areas at short notice,” the party leader said. “But we have yet to make our presence felt in south Calcutta.”

Except for an hour of traffic disruption in Kalighat and Hazra because of a BJP rally led by the state party president, it was just another day for the southern parts of the city. From Behala to Baghajatin and Chetla to Camac Street, markets were open, public transport was easily available and people moved about freely.

Nitesh Balan, who co-owns Renowned Tailoring Home beside Asutosh College in Hazra, said the bandh had made little difference to him. “Bandh or no bandh, I cannot afford to close the shop with Durga Puja three weeks away,” the 60-year-old said.

Balan had opened his shop at 10am and the flow of customers was normal throughout the afternoon, he said.

The queue for autorickshaws from Behala Chowrasta till Rashbehari Avenue had at least 30 people around 9.30am. The Metro stations at Tollygunge, Rabindra Sarobar, Kalighat and JD Park were buzzing. The roadside eateries along the footpaths of Camac Street, Russel Street and Theatre Road did brisk business.

In Burrabazar, the heart of the central business district, more than half the shops and offices were shut. Some traders had opened their shops in the morning, albeit only for the morning puja and aarti.

Rajinder Sharma, an edible oil wholesaler in Posta, was among the few to keep their shops open. “I have not done a single transaction since morning,” he told Metro around 12.30pm. “Most of my customers buy in cash. They don’t step out on strike days because they fear losing the cash if there is trouble.”

The five-point crossing at Shyambazar was almost deserted while the parking slots in and around MG Road were emptier than usual. An autorickshaw ride from Ultadanga to Sovabazar through Hatibagan took hardly 10 minutes around 11.30am, unthinkable on a weekday and more so when festive shopping in one of north Calcutta’s most popular markets peaks.