Raiganj, April 16: "I know I may lose some votes for this, but I don't mind."

If a person contesting elections makes a statement like this at a rally organised to woo voters, it may surprise many. But Mohit Sengupta never believed in beating about the bush and prefers speaking his mind even while campaigning.

"Consider Raiganj as your town, not only the chairman's town," Sengupta, the Congress president of North Dinajpur and party nominee for the Raiganj Assembly seat, tells 200-odd members of the West Dinajpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry during a meeting with the business community in the run-up to the polls. Sengupta is also the chairman of Raiganj municipality.

Raiganj gained relevance in Bengal politics because of Congress leader Priya Ranjan Das Munshi, now ailing. Sengupta, who received the guidance of Das Munshi in his early days in politics, has now earned the reputation of being "Raiganj er rupokar (the architect of Raiganj) because of his performance as the chairman of the municipality since 2003.

At the meeting with the business chamber representatives, some office-bearers try to point out to Sengupta how civic amenities can be improved.

Unlike most politicians, who would have made promises, Sengupta hurls a few uncomfortable questions at the audience.

"Is it fair to seek permission for a three-storey building on a 3ft to 4ft wide road?" he asks. He reminds the chamber member that in some municipalities, such plans are approved after promoters "meet the chairmen at their homes".

"Do I meet people at home and clear plans?" he asks, referring to the alleged practice of sanctioning building plans in exchange for money.

No one in the audience has any answer. Sengupta carries on. His next target is fish traders, who dispose of synthetic aromatic polymer (better known as thermocol), used to pack fish, near the Kulik river, causing pollution.

"I have to tell the truth. The town belongs to everyone," he tells this correspondent after the meeting.

Several people this newspaper spoke to said Sengupta had earned the right to ask such tough questions as he had worked hard to turn the Raiganj civic body into a "model municipality".

Across the 25 wards of Raiganj, there are hardly any potholes on the main roads. All roads are well lit with halogen lamps. Residents said that although Raiganj receives high rainfall, they don't have to deal with muddy and slushy roads even during the monsoon.

"Our town is different from the rest because of Mohitda's performance as the municipal chairman," says Ujjwal Das, a resident of the Rabindrapally area.

Sengupta starts his day at 5am, when he goes out for his morning walk with 10 or 12 aides. During the walk, the chairman and his aides assess cleanliness and civic problems. They take different routes every day.

"Mohitda goes to the municipality after the walk to check whether the sweepers have turned up. He leaves instructions for them as he wants to keep the town clean," an employee of the civic body said.

Purnendu Dey, a former aide of Sengupta who switched to Trinamul in 2015, has been given a ticket by the ruling party. Dey's poll plank is Mamata Banerjee and her "development agenda".

"Sengupta has focused only on Raiganj but, for the development of the entire district, we need a representative of Mamata," Dey says.

But there seems to be few takers of this view in Raiganj.