The young man was joking, of course, but his father played along. “Jaake khushi dao. Boro hoyechho (Vote for whoever you like. You have grown up),” the mayor replied as peals of laughter echoed in the 12x15ft room.
While Chatterjee gave his son the freedom to exercise his choice, there were allegations that his party denied many voters in the city their right to choose their candidates. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya
Saptarshi Chatterjee, 18, is planning to leave Calcutta, a city where he cast his first vote on Saturday morning and of which his father aspires to be mayor for the second time.
"There is little scope (for career development) in Calcutta. So I am planning to leave the city next year and study abroad. On my return, I intend to settle in a city like Mumbai," said the young man, who is in his second year of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme at The Heritage School.
Mayor Sovan Chatterjee, who had moments earlier told his son that he was free to choose his candidate when the 18-year-old jocularly asked him who he should vote for, would find it hard to dispute his son's choice of city.
And Saptarshi isn't the only young man in town who wants out.
"We need better places to hang out in than the Ganga- r ghats. Roads and drainage in our city could be much better. We need to free the pavements (of hawkers) and ensure more space for pedestrians," Saptarshi said. "Policing should be stricter and we need to make the city safer for women than it is now. And, yes, we need job opportunities for youths."
In an interview with Metro in the run-up to the election, the mayor had cited beautification of the Hooghly ghats and a plan to legalise hawkers among the highlights of Trinamul's term in office. Stepping out of the booth on Saturday morning, Chatterjee said he was confident voters would give the ruling party the mandate to run the Calcutta Municipal Corporation for another five years.
So what is it that stops Saptarshi from being bullish on Bengal and Calcutta like his father?
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee's fourth budget paints a bleak picture of industry, with a 41 per cent decline in projects implemented or under implementation. At least a third of the Rs 2.43 lakh crore worth of projected investments announced after the Bengal Global Business Summit in January will be in real estate and nearly half by central public sector units.
The core private sector remains wary of investing in Bengal, as evidenced by projects that have been promised but not implemented. The Jindal Group's Salboni steel plant is one among many big-ticket investments that have yet to see the light of day.
Shalimar Paints, Hind Motors and Titagarh Wagons, besides scores of jute mills and many tea estates, have shut shop over the past few months. Most of these industries had been ailing because of sluggish growth and lack of expansion and fresh investment.
Industrial demand for electricity has been growing at 2-6 per cent annually in recent years, compared to 10-15 per cent between 2001 and 2009. The statistics are proof that industry hasn't been growing.
Lack of industry translates into fewer opportunities for employment, which is why thousands of students with professional degrees have been deserting the state every year.
Nearly 90 per cent of the students in almost every engineering batch of Jadavpur University leave Bengal after graduating. The first 10 per cent go abroad, mostly for higher studies, and around 80 per cent leave because recruiters offer them jobs in cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai and Delhi.
At the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, more than 80 per cent of campus placements are for offices outside Bengal. Most of them don't have a presence in the state.
In the eyes of the young, bright and ambitious, lack of career opportunities isn't the only reason for their eagerness to go elsewhere.
Sporting a blue Nike T-shirt and a pair of grey track pants, Saptarshi rued the absence of many international fashion brands in his city.
"I like Zara (the Spanish fashion brand), which doesn't have a store here. Calcutta has buyers like me but it is still not attractive for many foreign brands to set up shop," he said.
Saptarshi, who has applied to the New York Film Academy and University College of London for a course in cinematography, film editing and direction, doesn't foresee himself ever joining politics. "I want to act, shoot and direct.... I have no interest in politics. My father loves the city. Even I do, but I am eyeing a career for which I will have to leave this city," the 18-year-old said.
Additional reporting by Mita Mukherjee and Sambit Saha
