Left puts up brave front, Trinamool a winning smile

On the eve of the day of reckoning — the counting of votes of the West Bengal poll — the city held its collective breath. Street corners and tea stalls were taken over with speculation, stalls selling gulal —green and red — dotted the pavements.

On the eve of the day of reckoning — the counting of votes of the West Bengal poll — the city held its collective breath. Street corners and tea stalls were taken over with speculation, stalls selling gulal —green and red — dotted the pavements. At her Kalighat home, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee wore a wining smile and the Left Front put on a brave face, claiming a clean sweep.

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Accusing the media of bias, Front chairman Biman Bose said: “The tally will be below 200, near to what the Left Front secured in the 2001 polls.” In a great show of confidence, he added, “The leaders from all Left Front constituents will meet the media on Friday around 4.30 pm”.

Asked about the source of his confidence, he said: “We do not tread on the clouds, we work among the people.”

But notwithstanding the oozing confidence of Bose, the traffic in the city flowed towards Kalighat, Mamata’s home.

The “winds of change” have blown the international media into the city as well and Mamata has been flooded with requests for interviews. ‘’All of them want exclusive interviews with ‘Didi’,” said Trinamool vice-president Derek O’Brien.

Outside, on the roads, there is just one question doing the rounds: "Is ‘parivartan’ (change) really coming to the state, or will there be a ‘pratyabartan (return) of the Left Front?"

With agency inputs