Calcutta, April 24: He never believes in giving up. He has seen 70 summers and three consecutive defeats - the 2011 Assembly elections from Khardah, the 2014 Lok Sabha polls from Dum Dum and the 2015 municipal elections in Bidhannagar.

In this gruelling heat, he walks down alleys and bylanes of Khardah, campaigning with folded hands and wearing his characteristic smile. As dusk settles in, he goes back to his Salt Lake home and listens to western classical music, mostly Tchaikovsky, or his wife's (Shyamali) Rabindrasangeet.

The 70-year-old Asim Dasgupta says: "The fight is against anarchy and unprincipled politics. During my campaigns, I am listening to the grievances of people and telling them that bad days will be over soon. I have seen on their faces the determination to cast votes against Trinamul. I have faith in them.''

But Dasgupta, a PhD in economics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology who was the finance minister for a record 24 years, knows he is up against a big fight with current finance and industries minister Amit Mitra, his Trinamul rival.

Mitra had wrested Khardah from Dasgupta in the 2011 Assembly elections by 26,000-odd votes. Dasgupta says he is determined to settle the score this time.

People voted Mitra five years ago. The Ficci secretary-general-turned-politician had held out hope for the residents who desperately wanted a change. Five years on, one of the major complaints of Khardah residents is the absence of Mitra, who preferred operating from Calcutta.

" Onake toh dekhai jai na (he cannot be seen),'' said a Khardah resident, adding that the people of the area could not even get the chance to ask him why he deserted them after making tall claims.

When this correspondent reached Mitra's Khardah address to meet him, an aide said: "Where's your visiting card?'' After producing the same, it was handed over to another Trinamul worker who first said: "Sir chaan korte gechhen, boshte hobe (Sir is having a bath. You will have to wait).''

A little later, the same person came down and handed over the visiting card to this correspondent saying: "Sir meeting e boshechhe, aaj dekha hobe na (Sir is in a meeting, he can't meet today).''

Although Mitra has often been accused of not being seen in the area, a local Trinamul leader justified the criticism.

"You cannot compare him with other MLAs.... He has had to run so many departments. But he has an office where people can say lodge complaints. Not only does he address all the problems, he takes feedback also," the Trinamul leader said.

The Left has lost a lot of ground in Khardah over the past few years, but Dasgupta is unfazed.

"Don't let anti-socials take over the polling process. Cast your own vote and prevent loot of votes. Vote loot rukhe din (resist the loot of votes),'' Dasgupta tells his voters.

On the other hand, ask any Trinamul leader about Khardah and he will claim Mitra is headed for a big win.

"One cannot imagine how much work Sir has done. That's why people will make him win by a huge margin,'' Khardah municipality vice-chairman Sukanta Banik said.

And then some Trinamul workers rattle off Mitra's accomplishments - laying of a mastic asphalt on the Khardah roads, installation of street lights, setting up of an electric crematorium, drinking water and what not.

But fear lurks in the minds of Trinamul men about the poll's outcome as infighting has reared its head in this constituency, making it tough for the party in 12 of the 28 wards. Some Trinamul leaders have become inactive here but are working for Madan Mitra in Kamarhati. Besides, the Narada issue has dented the party's image in certain urban pockets of Khardah, a source said.

"Factional fights may cost us dear in many areas of Khardah. Many Trinamul voters are fuming after seeing the Narada tapes. We fear erosion in support in the urban areas,'' said a Trinamul leader.