Kharagpur, April 8: The occupant of the extreme left seat of the Congress bench in the Assembly has remained unchanged since 1982, showing up almost always in a white shirt and trousers.
He is Gyan Singh Sohanpal, who, at 91, is the oldest candidate in the Assembly elections. Barring once, Sohanpal, fondly called Chacha by one and all, has been representing the Kharagpur Sadar seat since 1969.
When in Calcutta for Assembly sessions, the reticent Chacha spends most of his time in the room allotted to Congress MLAs. None of the other leaders sits on the chair "reserved" for him.
"He doesn't speak much, but he cannot hear much either," a Congress leader said. "Only Manasda (party MLA Manas Bhuniya) can understand what Chacha says. Chacha is with him for most of the day."
At the daily meetings Bhuniya chairs with Congress legislators when the Assembly is in session, Chacha sits quietly.
His campaign is restricted to road shows. No Congress leader could recall the last time Chacha addressed a rally.
Bhuniya said Chacha did not need to give speeches. "Chacha and the Congress are synonymous in this part of Bengal. Even the Congress office in Kharagpur town is known as Chacha's office," he said.
Assembly old-timers said when Hashim Abdul Halim was Speaker, he used to seek Chacha's counsel before every major ruling.
Chacha has been unbeaten since 1982. An MLA since 1969, he lost only once, in 1977.
"He is a rare politician. His personal probity is beyond question and he is a true believer in democracy. People of Kharagpur love him because he is always accessible. His doors are open for all," said Nazmul Haque, former CPM MLA from the Kharagpur Rural Assembly seat.
Mamata Banerjee, who has been spewing venom at the Left-Congress alliance at almost every rally, did not go beyond a gentle prod to Chacha to hang up his boots while addressing a rally in Kharagpur on March 30.
"Chacha -r boyesh hoye gechhe. Onar samparke kichhu bolte chai na. Uni boyoshko manush. Onar abasar neoa uchit (Chacha is old now. He is an elderly man and I don't want to say anything about him. He should retire," the chief minister had said.
In Kharagpur Sadar, the BJP is banking on the nearly 40 per cent non-Bengali voters and has fielded the party's Bengal unit president, Dilip Ghosh. The BJP had bagged 51,152 votes in Kharagpur in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, while the Congress had come a distant fourth.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed his first campaign meeting this Assembly election season in Kharagpur on March 27.
"Chacha has been an MLA for decades but Kharagpur has not developed as much as it should have. He should call it quits," Ghosh said.
The Left-Congress camp, however, is confident of Chacha emerging victorious.
"There is no Modi wave this time. People saw how Trinamul poached councillors to bag the Kharagpur municipality board. Now that the Left is with us, there is none to stop Chacha," said Rabi Shankar Pandey, a local Congress leader.
In the Kharagpur municipality polls last year, the Congress and Trinamul were tied at 11 seats each in the 35-member board. Trinamul eventually formed the board after five councillors of the BJP and two of the Left defected to the ruling party.
"That episode hurt me. I have never come across such a brazen act to grab power. I am ready to contest 10 more times to defeat this party (Trinamul)," Chacha said.
