A day after her ruling Trinamool Congress suffered a fall of face in the Supreme Court which transferred Saradha scam probe from the State police to the CBI, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday embarked on reviving some of her lost political ground by holding a massive 12-km road show in support of two South Kolkata candidates Subrato Bakshi and Sugato Bose.
More than one lakh Trinamool supporters walked the campaign from Jadavpur falling in the constituency of Bose, a grand nephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, and meandered through Golpark, Rashbehari Avenue before ending at Ekbalpore in Kolkata South constituency. One of the strongest citadels of the Trinamool Congress, the elite Kolkata South constituency is considered the Amethi of the Banerjees sending the Trinamool Congress chief to Parliament for six times in a stretch. She had only lost once from this seat by more than 35,000 votes to CPI(M)’s Biplab Dasgupta.
While in 2004 she won the seat by 98,000 votes, in 2009 she wrested it by a whopping 2.25 lakh votes. Bakshi stepped into her shoes in 2011 winning it by almost equal margin. While one lakh people walked the roadshow, several lakhs watched from the sidelines, some throwing a contemptuous glance and others hailing her dogged fight against a combined Opposition. “She is as brave laxmi Bai fighting all these men alone,” said 74-year-old Ratan Bagh insisting she was the “only tigress in the State.”
However Mrinal Jena, a postal worker said “crowd does not always convert into votes otherwise the CPI(M) would not have lost in 2009 by garnering a crowd of 14 lakh at the Brigade Parade Ground. They will have to pay the price of perpetrating scams and political hooliganism.”
Even as the procession, a tad less big than what used to be even a few months ago consisting scores of SUVs, inched towards Hazra the neighbourhood of Banerjee’s residence women with conch shells appeared at the balconies. This, even as die-hard left and BJP-bashers stood at their balconies for more than two hours at Ekbalpore and Hazra to have a dekko of the procession.
Banerjee was also accompanied by star and Rajya Sabha member Mithun Chakrabarty. “The show was a major success and would definitely prove to be a final big shot before the match ends,” said Bakshi adding after the show there was no doubt that “Sugato Babu and I will win the polls.”