Bhabanipur bypoll: In her home turf, Mamata Banerjee is seen as indomitable

It houses her residence at Kalighat and it is her home turf where her political career came to full bloom. The Trinamool Congress supremo is aiming to win from this constituency in Kolkata for a third time in the September 30 by-election, which is crucial for her to remain the CM as she is currently not a member of the legislative assembly.

Banerjee knows the people of this constituency thoroughly. Her overwhelming presence is conspicuous even when her banners and posters are limited. People here call her “our daughter”, and negate the presence of other political parties. She had got elected from here in 2011 and 2016.

For Banerjee, Bhabanipur is as important as Nandigram, which brought her to power in 2011 but from where she lost the election this year. Originally a Congress bastion, former chief minister Sidhartha Shankar Ray of the Congress had won from this constituency in 1957 and 1962. The Congress had retained the seat till 1972. In 2011, Trinamool leader Subrata Bakshi won this seat. But he vacated it for Banerjee, then the railway minister, who won the by-election that followed.

Talking to voters here, one can understand how Banerjee is the central theme of the constituency and how she is considered ‘ghorer meye’, the catchword used by the Trinamool Congress — daughter of the constituency and the person who has always stood by the people.

“Bhabanipur is indebted to Mamata Banerjee for everything. Every other household is grateful to her for providing employment to the residents. Roads are clean and pothole-free. All other services are at the doorstep, be it health service or Duare Sarkar,” said Shankar Mitra, a 70-year-old retired government employee. “So, there is people’s love and emotions for her … We have seen her grow up and grow as a politician.”

Mithun Shahu, a non-teaching staff in a government school, said every citizen has benefited from the services provided by Banerjee’s government. “Then, why will people think twice before voting for her. She has kept her promises in the true sense.”

A comparison to Nandigram is automatically drawn. Banerjee has been betrayed in Nandigram, feels many voters here. “Mamata Banerjee was a victim of poll rigging done by (BJP’s) Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram. We want her to win with a 50,000-plus margin from Bhabnipur,” said Trinamool 73 ward chairman Asit Saha.

In the assembly polls earlier this year, while Trinamool’s Sobhabdeb Chattopadhyay won with a margin of 28,000-plus votes, the BJP got lead in three wards. A large presence of Marwari and Gujarati communities in these areas is seen as the reason for this.

Sunil Parekh, a Gujarati businessman with decades-old roots in Bengal, said: “Non-Bengali community has affinity towards the BJP. But when Mamata Banerjee is already in power, it is of no use voting against her.”

With a substantial non-Bengali population in the constituency, estimated to be around 40%, Banerjee held special interactive sessions with the community representatives of Gujaratis, Marwaris and Sikhs. She went to the gurudwara on Harish Mukherjee Road on Wednesday and the Lakshmi Narayan Temple on Thursday.

Banerjee said she respects all religions. “When I go to a mosque, the BJP questions why am I going there. They make a video which goes viral. I went to Gurdwara. I covered my head and went. I do Kali puja. When I go to Gurdwara or do Kali Puja, the BJP doesn’t object. I did Ganesh Puja too, they kept quiet.”

BJP’s candidate in the constituency is Priyanka Tibrewal, a young advocate who is the lead petitioner in the Calcutta High Court over alleged post-poll violence in the state. She is travelling to every nook and corner of the constituency, doing door to door campaigns. She has sought votes from Bengali and non-Bengali communities alike. According to Tibrewal, her “fight is for humanity and the people of Bengal”.

In the assembly election held earlier this year, Trinamool’s Chattopadhyay defeated actor Rudranil Ghosh of the BJP in Bhabanipur by a margin of 28,719 votes. He vacated the seat for Banerjee.

In 2016, Banerjee defeated Congress veteran Priyanranjan Dasmunshi’s wife, Deepa, by 25,301 votes. Dasmunshi was once a mentor of Banerjee. Netaji kin Chandra Kumar Bose had fought with a BJP ticket at that time. In 2011, Banerjee got a lead of 54,213 votes over CPI-M’s Nandini Mukherjee.

This time, the CPI-M has fielded Srijib Biswas in Bhabanipur.