The pitch is set in Berhampore, Murshidabad for an electrifying Lok Sabha battle with former cricketer-turned-politician Yusuf Pathan set to take on six-time MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. It was a googly when the Trinamool Congress, which shares no great relationship with Adhir, decided to put up a real fight. It chose Yusuf Pathan in a sports crazy state to take on dada, as Adhir is called.
Berhampore has over 50 percent Muslim population and the TMC calculates that Yusuf’s religion would work for them. In addition, on the seven assembly segment here, six have TMC MLAs.
The TMC has given the charge of campaign management to IPAC, once owned by Prashant Kishore. Management and planning are clearly visible in Yusuf’s campaigns. Most posters show him as a cricket player with the World Cup trophy. Most of his campaigns are in areas which are dominated by minorities. Most of the crowd is of the young and not so young, crazy to take a selfie with him while Yusuf obliges happily.
Donning a hat, he stepped out of his hotel, which has been his home ever since his name was announced. “I was at home and I got a call to fight. I thought for a week and then decided, chalo kar lete hain. (Let’s do it)”
But what about the tag that he is an outsider with his home town being Baroda and him knowing no Bangla? “I am learning how to speak Bangla. I am getting a lot of love here, so I am not worried. Gujarat is my janmabhoomi, Bengal is my karmabhoomi,” Yusuf said.
When asked the same question, Chowdhury smiled and said, “Everyone has a right to fight. I am not bothered. I know what I have to do and I am doing it.”
Chowdhury leaves early in the scorching heat on an open Jeep and the enthusiasm of the people in most places is palpable as well as organic. He waves with a smile and then also hands a handful of chocolates to young children as well as many women. Chowdhury is banking on the fact that everyone knows him here and he is not an outsider, but he also makes it clear that his ‘karam’ is to ensure the defeat of Mamata Banerjee.
News18 asked him, “Mamata Banerjee has set one condition to ally with the Congress and that is to get rid of Chaudhary. Yet your party stuck by you.” He smiled broadly and said, “Mamata Banerjee has come under the pressure of ED, CBI and the Income Tax. She was the one who claimed that she gave the name INDIA bloc, then why did she leave us? She is responsible for the failure of the alliance over here, she is one person I will never stop speaking out against.”
In stark contrast to Yusuf Pathan, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s campaign is not accompanied or marked or chalked out by any professional. It is he who decides with his team of two loyal aides who have always be with him over the years on where he wants to travel. He, too, like Yusuf Pathan, is now concentrating on the minority areas, stopping to garland the men, distributing chocolates and reaching out to women.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury faces one of the toughest challenges in his life. It’s a match which he knows he needs to win to ensure that the Congress stays afloat in West Bengal. He is careful not to attack Yusuf personally. He knows it’s a narrative which could be used against him to paint him anti-minority by the TMC.
Chowdhury leaves home at 8 am, goes to his party office in Berhampore, sits a while, engages with his party workers to ensure they are happy as they are the ones who will ensure voters reach the booth. It’s a clear strategy to show that the Congress does not have the money, where, in contrast, the TMC is loaded.
But there are niggling questions. There are no factories here to generate jobs. The silk mills, which are there are not exactly doing brisk business. Most of the young people either take a daily ferry to work nearby or have relocated in other states.
At a tea stall, when News18 spoke to those who reached back on the ferry after a long day’s work, whether jobs is a criteria while voting. “We have lived our life but we want our children to earn,” said a voter.
This election is a battle about jobs. Yusuf Pathan has made this his pitch. He said, ” I want to bring development in this area. I have seen that there are no factories but I also want to do a lot for the young people and build up a stadium which will give them joy as well as employment.”
But will this battle be easy? The Congress has almost been wiped out from the state. Berhampore, Malda are pockets where its presence is marked. But the TMC, seething with anger, wants to ensure that Chowdhury loses. They know that Mamata’s silence is the most bitter critic. She calls him a B-team of the BJP and at times, Chowdhury uses the same word for her. “Of course she is. It’s obvious. Isn’t it,” asked Chaudhary, with a smile on his face.
Yusuf, meanwhile, said, “I am new but I want to change their lives. Don’t ask me hard political questions. I am here to stay.”
TMC says ‘khela hobe‘. Yusuf has traded his blue shirt for the white neta’s clothes. But the colour of TMC is blue, so he sees a continuity there. Chowdhury says the pitch is not good for Yusuf and the TMC. The match has begun.
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