They are a minority in a House of veterans, in age as well as experience. But what made the 40-odd young newcomers to the Calcutta Municipal Corporation stand out from the rest at the swearing-in on Tuesday was how they charted their path.

There were no clichés in the bag to fall back on, only priorities to list. Nobody paid lip service to repaying the faith of voters by "doing something for them". Each spoke about a specific plan to solve specific problems in their wards.

The Left Front councillors may have stayed away - they will take the oath of office on Wednesday - but the presence and panache of GeNext finally shifted the focus from how this election was fought to what this city needs from its elected representatives.

"I am excited about my stint but I am also aware that this election has thrust on me many responsibilities," said Sana Ahmed, who at 27 is among the younger councillors along with Debalina Biswas, a first-timer elected from Ward 74.

Sana, the daughter of veteran councillor Iqbal Ahmed and niece of Trinamul MP Sultan Ahmed, is fluent in English, Hindi and Urdu. She knows her Bengali too.

One of her immediate priorities is to ensure the completion of an English-medium school in her ward, whose foundation stone had been laid before the election. Ward 62 comprises localities surrounding Ripon Street and Sana thinks an English-medium school run by the CMC will benefit many in the area who cannot send their children to good institutes where the tuition fee is higher than they can afford.

On whether she knew that she was among the youngest in the House, Sana blushed. "Many people have told me that. I don't know whether there is anyone younger than me," she said.

But Sana is confident about being taken seriously, never mind her age.

Another Trinamul scion is Faiz Ahmed Khan, the 31-year-old councillor of Ward 66 that comprises parts of Topsia, Tiljala and Picnic Garden. Faiz's to-do list includes setting up a college in his area. The son of fire services minister Javed Ahmed Khan, who was a councillor before he graduated to the cabinet, cites the "high population density" in his ward as the reason why the area needs a college first more than anything else.

Tishta Biswas Das, the 37-year-old elected from Ward 86, presides over an area that is demographically much different from Sana's or Faiz's territory.

It includes some of Calcutta's posh areas, including Hindustan Park, Dover Lane, Purna Das Road and Garcha, where Tishta lives. One among only seven BJP councillors in the CMC, she knows that her biggest challenge is to meet the expectations of two very different sets of people.

"My ward has areas where generally well-off people live. Their demands would be very different from those living in the two slums in my ward. I will try to fulfil what those in slums want as well what the affluent voters expect of me," said Tishta.

Her priorities are to minimise the impact of the hawker invasion that has made walking through the pavements in areas surrounding Gariahat a near-impossible task. Tishta also intends to streamline garbage clearing and collection in the morning.

Enthusiastic young faces like hers lit up the council chamber where the councillors took oath. The veterans shook hands with the first-timers, congratulated them and even offered a word or two of advice. When it was their turn to speak, the words sounded fresh to the ears, if not radical.

Unlike most veterans who parroted the party line, none of the five first-time Trinamul councillors Metro spoke to talked about following or taking forward their leader Mamata Banerjee's vision. The ruling party's much-flaunted beautification programme didn't figure in their immediate priorities either.

A lawyer, a teacher, a software professional and a former journalist - the new faces are an eclectic mix in the Trinamul pot.

Arup Chakraborty of Ward 110, which includes Briji, Patuli and parts of Garia, has fixed uniform distribution of water among the residents of his ward as his top priority. These areas had been dependent on deep tubewells until the Dhapa plant became operational in December.

The residents started getting water from the Dhapa unit in April. "I will check and ensure there is a uniform distribution of water. I must make sure nobody is left out," said the software professional.

Not all first-time councillors in the House are on the right side of 40, though. Rajesh Khanna, councillor of Ward 36, is making his debut two years above the age of superannuation.

Khanna said maturity was as important in public life as experience. "Age is, of course, only a number," he smiled.

Mayor Sovan Chatterjee, stepping into his second term, set the bar high for the new set of councillors when he said that his aim was to make Calcutta a city comparable with the world's best. "I would, of course, need everyone's help to achieve that," he said.

 

Why do/don't you think fresh blood will make a difference? Tell ttmetro@abpmail.com