Dressed in a white kurta with a garland round his neck, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate and former Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta walks the muddy lanes of the agricultural constituency of Tarakeshwar in sweltering warmth, folding his arms earlier than residents and imploring them to vote for him.
“There is a lot of resentment in West Bengal over the corruption inherent in the disbursal of people’s entitlements. That is the number one issue,” Dasgupta instructed News18 in an unique interview on Tuesday, campaigning within the constituency finest recognized for its historical Shiva temple.
Tarakeshwar is in Hooghly, one of many districts impacted by Cyclone Amphan that hit West Bengal in May 2020. The BJP believes alleged irregularities within the distribution of reduction supplies will affect the ballot final result within the seat held by the ruling Trinamool Congress.
“For a grant of Rs 50,000-60,000, there has been corruption…(they say) you pay us Rs 20,000 and then you get it. This is ethically and morally wrong, especially if you take away money from the pockets of these poor people. A lot of the money has been given to people who already have it, on political considerations.
“And the Amphan relief non-delivery is a big issue. On top of that, in the villages, the Scheduled Tribe (ST) and the Dalit populations complain that they are constantly under attack from the Trinamool cadre, who come on motorbikes and threaten; the girls have been complaining,” he stated.
ALL GUNS BLAZING
Dasgupta resigned as a nominated Rajya Sabha member to struggle for the BJP from this seat. Apart from him, three BJP Lok Sabha MPs are within the fray on this fiercely fought election.
“MPs Locket Chatterjee, Nisith Parmanik and Babul Supriyo are also fighting. We have to go all guns blazing to send a message to the BJP workers that we are here to win the state,” he stated.
But can his social gathering sustain the momentum it gained within the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and oust chief minister Mamata Banerjee?
“…I believe we are picking up momentum every day. Nationally, the BJP may be a very old party, but in West Bengal, our growth has been relatively new. (However) lots of people have suddenly come (forward) in the last few years. There is a lot of enthusiasm. There is also a little inbuilt chaos, but the enthusiasm is compensating for that. We have to channel these energies to delivering the vote at the right time and the right place,” Dasgupta instructed News18.
He additionally stated Banerjee’s damage, which she suffered in Nandigram earlier this month, was not an actual issue within the elections. “I have not really encountered anyone who has been talking about that,” Dasgupta stated, referring to the CM’s accidents that she blamed on the BJP.
SUSPENSE OVER CM FACE
When requested if he was among the many probables for the chief minister’s put up if the BJP received the elections, Dasgupta stated he didn’t know why such issues come up. “This is not something that preoccupies me so much. One thing flattering about this talk about CM face is that everyone expects the BJP to win — which I think is very reassuring. I am relatively novice in electoral politics. Maybe I have a certain innate understanding of the administrative process and something like that, but there are others too,” he stated.
Asked if this meant he was not within the race, Dasgupta stated the social gathering will take a call as soon as the outcomes had been out and that it should steadiness many issues. “All of us (BJP’s West Bengal leaders) are very good friends. (We) are working as colleagues and there is no rivalry or back-biting amongst each other,” Dasgupta stated.
Dasgupta cited the BJP’s massive guarantees for girls in its manifesto, saying this part was shifting in direction of his social gathering. “I have found in my interactions that it is the women who are mostly with us. What really touches them is the PM Awas Yojana (the Centre’s flagship programme for affordable housing) and the drinking water scheme, Har Ghar Jal. These two national schemes of (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi resonate on the ground,” he stated.
Dasgupta additionally talked concerning the plight of the economically backward sections. “…those who are very poor live in mud houses opposed to brick houses…Once you could have said mud huts look very pretty and picturesque, but in reality, if you go inside these mud huts, it is very sub-human. Banerjee has not delivered this scheme (PM Awas Yojana), or has done it very selectively and on a political basis,” he added.
CHALLENGE AWAITS
Tarakeshwar is not going to be a simple seat for the BJP, because the Trinamool received it prior to now two meeting elections. A senior Trinamool chief stated: “The demand this time was for a local candidate. So we have chosen Ramendu Singha Roy, the Trinamool district president, while the BJP got caught in a trap and fielded an outsider here,”. The ruling social gathering has dropped its sitting MLA and minister, Rachhpal Singh, from this seat.
The BJP, nonetheless, believes it is an in depth struggle in Tarakeshwar, with the mishandling of the Amphan aftermath and alleged looting of reduction work by Trinamool staff weighing heavy on voters’ minds. The BJP’s victory within the Hooghly Lok Sabha seat in 2019 is an additional dose of confidence.
From one village to a different, Dasgupta, an city suave bhadralok (gentleman) face of the social gathering, is attempting his finest to make a join with the agricultural voters. “It is a new experience; I will be very honest with you. The type of issues that concern rural voters and the rural dynamics are very different from the ones which prevail in the cities. Here, the larger issue of growth and opportunities have to be translated into some things that relate to people’s day-to-day lives. To make that transition in the form of your language and relationship is a new experience for me. I hope I’m managing to do it. People are looking at sincerity above all,” Dasgupta stated
২৪X৭ নিউজ বেঙ্গল এ সবার আগে পড়ুন ব্রেকিং নিউজ। থাকছে দৈনিক টাটকা খবর, খবরের লাইভ আপডেট। সবচেয়ে ভরসাযোগ্য বাংলা এবং ইংলিশ খবর পড়ুন ২৪X৭ নিউজ বেঙ্গল এর ওয়েবসাইটে। নিয়মিত খবরে থাকতে লাইক করুন ফেসবুকে ও ফলো করুন টুইটারে।
‘রঙ’ ছাড়া সংবাদ খুঁজে পাওয়া কঠিন। কোন খবরটা ‘খাচ্ছে’? সেটাই কি শেষ কথা? নাকি আসল সত্যিটার নাম ‘সংবাদ’! ‘ব্রেকিং’ আর প্রাইম টাইমের পিছনে দৌড়তে গিয়ে দেওয়ালে পিঠ ঠেকেছে সত্যিকারের সাংবাদিকতার। অর্থ আর চোখ রাঙানিতে হাত বাঁধা সাংবাদিকদের। কিন্তু, গণতন্ত্রের চতুর্থ স্তম্ভে ‘রঙ’ লাগানোয় বিশ্বাসী নই আমরা। আর মৃত্যুশয্যা থেকে ফিরিয়ে আনতে পারেন আপনারাই। সোশ্যালের ওয়াল জুড়ে বিনামূল্যে পাওয়া খবরে ‘ফেক’ তকমা জুড়ে যাচ্ছে না তো? আসলে পৃথিবীতে কোনও কিছুই ‘ফ্রি’ নয়। তাই, আপনার দেওয়া একটি টাকাও অক্সিজেন জোগাতে পারে। স্বতন্ত্র সাংবাদিকতার স্বার্থে আপনার স্বল্প অনুদানও মূল্যবান। পাশে থাকুন।
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