Ajit Panja has many reasons to feel uneasy
Voters in Kolkata North-East constituency allege that Panja has deprived them of basic necessities like water and healthcare for years.
The sun is setting on the Deshbandhu Park while the by-lanes buzz with activity. The red dais and a 1000-strong crowd are waiting for its comrades — Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee and minorities minister Mohammed Salim, the CPM candidate from Kolkata North-East.
Many in the crowd speak in hushed tones about Salim, the hope on the horizon for the 9,24,613 voters of the constituency.
"Panja bribes voters," whisper Purnima Lahiri, Kabita Sil and Kalyani Bhatttacharya in one breath. The women voters of the constituency are obviously unhappy with the performance of sitting MP of the Trinamool Congress, Ajit Panja. Panja has represented the constituency since 1984.
"Sometimes it's bindis, bags and umbrellas. We didn't get anything and Panja should not expect we would vote for him", said Purnima Lahiri, a resident of the Deshbandhu Park area.
Slum-dwellers in the constituency are livid. They say Panja has deprived them of basic necessities like water and healthcare for years. "The TB Hospital here has not been operational for 10 years," says Dulendra Sil. Sil, who lives in Hashibagan slums, and has had to live with acute water crisis for years.
Soon, the CM reaches the venue with Salim.
Bhattacharjee talks more about Panja than his own party's candidate. "Why is Panja playing the communal card? Is he right in accusing Salim of being a Muslim? Isn't India's President a Muslim? Wasn't Maulana Abul Kalam Azad a Muslim? Bengal is different and the Togadias or communal politics won't be able to make a difference", he says.
Salim hopes to ride to the Lok Sabha on the pent-up anger among voters. "You heard them on the sitting MP. He claims to have spent Rs 21 crore from MP LADS but I have proof that he has received only Rs 16 crore. But how has that helped the people here?" he asks.
Away from high rhetoric, balika bodhu Mousumi Chatterjee is banking on her simplicity to draw votes for the Congress. "People are saying that the real contest is between me and Mohammed Salim. Panja is faring badly in the constituency,” she said.