It’s four in the afternoon. About 25 km from Kolkata, a score of bikers and some 150 odd people are making their way to patches of farmlands in Bilkanda village in the Khardah assembly constituency of West Bengal, waving placards and shouting slogans for a man less-known in this part of the world, but easily among the most recognised faces in corporate India.
As economist-turned-industry lobbyist-turned-politician Amit Mitra steps out of his Innova, the slogans get louder. Done to the hilt, milk-white dhoti kurta with matching sneakers and socks, Mitra fits into his new image of Trinamool Congress candidate perfectly. Corporate ensembles tucked away with his leave of absence from the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), where he is the secretary general, the politician is now ready for his “padayatra”.
Sixty-three-year-old Mitra is almost breathless, as he manages to say he has been walking at least four hours a day for his door-to-door campaign, ahead of the assembly elections. There are people along the narrow alleys of Bilkanda who have come to see the Trinamool candidate in what used to be a red bastion till recently. “It’s an amazing experience. Look at the enthusiasm of the crowd,” he gushed. Mitra, however, is not exactly in uncharted territory.
His father, Haridas Mitra, was the deputy speaker of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, while mother played an important role in the freedom struggle. Last, but certainly not the least, his maternal grandfather was Suresh Chandra Bose, elder brother of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Bilkanda is one of the villages that gave the Trinamool candidate a lead of 350 votes, of a lead margin of 1,400 votes in the last Lok Sabha elections. A local committee leader quickly tells Mitra, “This time we will manage 600.” Mitra looks reassured. “The state has not done anything to address poverty, lack of infrastructure, water and drainage issues in the last 34 years,” says Mitra.
With a sickle in hand, symbolic of Left Front’s land reforms almost three decades back, Gosto Bhowmick, feels left out by opportunities that have found place in other parts and segments of West Bengal.
“The government is raising salaries of their own employees disproportionately, which has led to rise in prices. We are poor farmers, earning just Rs 100 a day, not sufficient to take care of any of our long term needs,” Bhowmick says. Interestingly, Banerjee’s policies against globalisation, big capital, disinvestment policies and privatisation are not exactly in line with what Mitra has been advocating as an industry lobbyist. Mitra, however, insists that there is no such contradiction.
“It is a wrong notion the Trinamool Congress is against industry. The party is against companies who come and try setting up factories through eviction of farmers,” he explains. Going by past record, industrialisation for Trinamool must then be an evolving concept.