Meherabina, whose son is contesting from one of the gram panchayats in Murshidabad district’s Raninagar, said: “I am not scared and I shall vote. They came to my house even today, drew a line and ordered me not to cross it on voting day.”
The 72-year-old woman is the only one who speaks openly and tells me that the so-called goons belonged to the Trinamool Congress. Her son is contesting on a Congress ticket and has gone underground. Their house bears signs of vandalism while window panes of their only car are now smashed. And a row of other houses have also been attacked.
There are a number of Congress flags fluttering, giving a bit of a challenge to the TMC. The grand old party has been emboldened in Murshidabad, as it is the stronghold of Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and he has no qualms admitting that despite a pitch for opposition unity, he will take on chief minister Mamata Banerjee. It is a necessity as the Congress can only rise here when the TMC is crushed.
Only recently, in a pleasant surprise, the Congress entered the Bengal legislative assembly after it won the Sagardighi bypoll. The winning candidate, Bayron Biswas, has now joined the TMC. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had condemned this, saying it was against the spirit of opposition unity.
Back in Murshidabad, Chowdhury has tried to ensure that the Congress makes a cleansweep in this area. It is important for the leader’s political future and will also be sweet revenge for the exit of Biswas, who was apparently co-opted by the ruling TMC.
This is why the Congress has claimed that the Domkal area – witness to a high number of incidents related to poll violence – is the TMC’s way of stopping the Congress. In the last week since nomination, there have been incidents of crude bomb blasts on a daily basis and alleged attacks on Congress and Left workers by “TMC goons”.
On June 20, Chowdhury sat outside the block development office in his constituency, alleging that his party workers were being attacked by the TMC. “It is merciless the way she (Mamata Banerjee) attacks her opponents. It shows her desperation. It also shows that I know she is not invincible. It’s up to my seniors to decide what they want to do with opposition unity. But as far as I am concerned, I won’t give up my fight against her,” he told News18.
A local boy accompanying the News18 team is repeatedly looking over his shoulder. He says he is scared of speaking to the media and antisocial elements finding out about it. He even claims that he was beaten up in the previous panchayat polls in 2018 when his father had contested on a Congress ticket. He says people do not go to their farms during poll season as crude bombs can be found anywhere, as they are easily available over the counter.
The TMC said it was being maligned, and the “culture of violence” was brought in by the Left due to which the TMC has suffered as well. On the last day of campaigning, the parties raised their poll pitch. Parties even roped in small-time film stars and local artistes.
But Chowdhury remains the most vocal Mamata critic, but he needs to win the panchayat polls as a base for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
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