Outsider Pranabda pleads for a chance

In Khargram village of Jangipur constituency in West Bengal, elderly women wept when Pranab Mukherjee came calling and some fell at the Congress leader's feet. Not since the days of Siddhartha Sankar Ray did this pocket witness such frenzy.

But images seldom portray the true picture and there is a twist in the tale. The Congress is almost there, but not quite.

Defying predictions, the CPI-M and its allies are slowly turning things in their favour since the Congress has failed to cash in on Muslim votes which constitute 56 per cent of this constituency.

Even Mukherjee is aware of this. "We are trying to woo everybody," he says.

The CPI-M is trying to portray Mukherjee as someone who is not a man of the soil and who has enjoyed his life in New Delhi. "What he will do here? He is not even aware of the problems here," says sitting MP and CPI-M candidate Abul Hasnat Khan.

Congress general secretary Manas Bhuyia is confident that the electorate will elect Mukherjee. "Who doesn't want a person of Pranabda's stature to represent their constituency?" he asked.

This is a difficult question to answer because Mukherjee lost the LS elections whenever he has tried — once from Malda in 1977 and the second time from Bolpur in 1980.

While the Congress confidence stems from the electorate's general preference for a leader with stature, Mukherjee has tended to fall back on the time-tested policy of belittling the ruling party.

"You have elected CPI-M candidates seven out of eight times since 1977 only to find bad roads, no worthwhile hospital, no girl's college, no road connectivity. Please give a chance to the Congress this time," he tells his voters at Khargram on Wednesday.

On the other hand, the CPI-M is claiming that they had done a lot of work in the last few years.

"I am only the second man from Bengal who has utilised all the funds towards developing educational institutes, roads and bridges," Khan claims.