?Architect? of Bolpur on dream Bengal track

He knows the odds are in his favour. But Somnath Chatterjee is taking this elections as seriously as he did two decades ago, when he contested the Bolpur Lok Sabha seat the first time.

Somnath Chatterjee on a smooth ride so far.

He knows the odds are in his favour. But Somnath Chatterjee is taking this elections as seriously as he did two decades ago, when he contested the Bolpur Lok Sabha seat the first time.

There are six of them pitted against him in this constituency. But the CPI(M) heavyweight sees the Trinamool Congress’ Dr Nirmal Kumar Maji as his main rival.

The Trinamool had earlier considered three names — Dr Arup Mishra, Dr Sushovan Banerjee (former district president) and Milan Kumar Singha (Bolpur Municipality chairman) — as its candidate. But all the three begged out and the party had to bring in Maji from Kolkata.

Chatterjee had beaten former state minister and Trinamool candidate Suniti Chattaraj by 1.86 lakh votes in the last general elections. But he is not taking his opponents lightly.

On the campaign trail, the sitting MP is using every medium to get his message across, and to sustain the personal rapport he has built up with the voters over the years.

Travelling the length and breadth of the constituency, he is addressing public gatherings and rallies besides going on door-to-door campaigns in the remotest pockets.

Chatterjee arrives at the crack of dawn in his green Qualis, with four Ambassadors packed with party members, well-wishers and reporters on tow. Amid interviews, he finishes a light breakfast.

The voters here acknowledge Chatterjee’s contributions to the growth of the local industry. “The standard of living in this area has increased in the last few years. We are feeling good, not because of the NDA government, but because of our respected MP,” said Tapan Mondal, a farmer.

Mondal is not alone. The people owe it all to Chatterjee. Bolpur, they say, got it all in the last five years — two big industrial units, 17 rice mills, a cement factory, the Rabindra Bithi, Abon Setu (a bridge on Avoy river), a mega water project funded by the German government, a rail link from Khana to Bolpur and Geetanjali, a fine auditorium. The people, in fact, fondly refer to Chatterjee as the “architect” of Bolpur.

Chatterjee mingles freely with everyone; and he seems to know many of them by name. Their needs are varied, ranging from personal favours to civic facilities. The MP calls the meetings “reunion” with his people. In between the meetings, he munches on muri and snacks to keep him going through the gruelling schedule.

At a public meeting, Chatterjee slams the NDA government’s feel-good slogan.

“It is because of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government that some 7,000 farmers committed suicide. This will never happen in West Bengal, which has a government that cares for farmers.”

He also attacks the Centre’s disinvestments policy, saying while the NDA has promised one crore jobs, they are closing down industries, thus creating more unemployment in the country.

In this regard, he says, Bengal has made giant strides. The state has been able to exploit its potential and woo investors, he says citing examples like Haldia Petrochem, Wipro, Nilkamal and Mitsubishi.

Dusk is falling and he is back in Bolpur. But the work is not over yet for the busy campaigner. The major part of his evening is spent surfing the television news channels, with the finger on the remote sometimes stopping briefly at the sports and adventure channels. Updated with the day’s events, Chatterjee sits down with local leaders to chalk out poll strategy.