Calcutta, April 10: The Bengal BJP today roped in all-India president M. Venkaiah Naidu to kick off the poll campaign in Dum Dum, where Union minister Tapan Sikdar is fighting influential leader Amitava Nandi of the CPM.
Today’s meeting also helped Tathagata Roy bury the hatchet with arch rival Sikdar, the sitting MP from Dum Dum. Sikdar does not see eye to eye with Roy, who was elected party state unit president a few months ago.
Besides Naidu, Sikdar and Roy, Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee was also among those present when the poll campaign was kicked off at Sarat Park, near the airport.
Naidu said the Congress had neither a leader of national stature nor an agenda to present before the electorate. The party also does not have a clear vision about the future of the country.
“But, unlike the Congress, we have everything. A leader of national stature like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a pro-people agenda and our government’s clear vision for the future of India. These are reasons why you should vote for our candidate, Tapan Sikdar,” the BJP president told those gathered for the rally organised jointly by the BJP and Trinamul.
Though Sikdar launched his campaign today, his main opponent, CPM nominee Nandi, launched his campaign about a month ago with chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee addressing a gathering at the Dum Dum Central Jail ground.
Sikdar’s presence in the constituency was hardly felt till today’s meeting. The small ground was jampacked with enthusiastic BJP and Trinamul supporters. Singer Kumar Sanu, who presented two of his popular songs amid loud cheers from the crowd, was another attraction.
The BJP-Trinamul camp in Dum Dum was a little upset as Nandi had launched his campaign about a month ago and high-profile CPM leaders like Jyoti Basu and Anil Biswas had addressed several rallies in his favour.
However, today’s small-but-thick crowd at Sikdar’s campaign gave enough indication that Dum Dum will witness a tough electoral battle on May 10. Sikdar’s “silence” so far had stunned many.
It is learnt that CPM insiders were busy discussing among themselves the probable reasons behind Sikdar’s low-profile campaign.
There was also a thin hope in the CPM circle that Mamata might not back Sikdar this time because of her strained relations with him. But today’s gathering left no doubt about this. The CPM, too, is certain that the BJP and Trinamul combine is well-knit and poses a serious threat.
