Old warhorse Somen Mitra, who recently came home to Congress after a tortuous stint with the Trinamool Congress, banked on a unique outdoor teaser campaign in his outreach to voters in this Lok Sabha election.
Though this is the second time he is contesting as a Lok Sabha candidate, this time from the North Kolkata constituency, Mitra has an enviable record of seven Assembly election victories.
A resident of north Kolkata's Amherst Street, Mitra is trying to build a bridge with the electors of his constituency by putting stress on 'Chorda' (younger elder brother) by which nickname he is known in his constituency.
He is also raising issues like security of women and empowerment of women. So the billboards say "Nari - Puralakshmi - Suraksha - Lanchhona - Stree Shakti - Abhabyota - Samman : Amar Chhorda Amar Paray" with the image of a working woman embossed by the side.
"We have sought to hit upon words, phrases which can instantly connect with the common man, in this case a lady, who is confronted with these issues," a spokesman for the team managing the campaign told PTI here.
The spokesman claimed that no such teaser campaign had been attempted before in any elections campaign in Bengal.
Another person connected with the campaign said, "We had brainstorming session with Somenda soon after his Lok Sabha candidature was announced. We explored issues and subjects with which people, masses and the upper strata in the North Kolkata constituency can connect with him."
He said that the campaign is also aimed at young people in the age group of 18-35 who constitute a large chunk of the electorate.
The veteran leader, not previously familiar with social networking sites, has also opened a Facebook account to post regular updates on his campaign and messages.
Though this is the second time he is contesting as a Lok Sabha candidate, this time from the North Kolkata constituency, Mitra has an enviable record of seven Assembly election victories.
A resident of north Kolkata's Amherst Street, Mitra is trying to build a bridge with the electors of his constituency by putting stress on 'Chorda' (younger elder brother) by which nickname he is known in his constituency.
More From This Section
Thus every billboard that has come up on street joints in the constituency says "Amar Chorda amar paray" (Chorda in my locality), or "Amar Captain, Amar Parar Chhorda" (my captain, Chorda of my locality).
He is also raising issues like security of women and empowerment of women. So the billboards say "Nari - Puralakshmi - Suraksha - Lanchhona - Stree Shakti - Abhabyota - Samman : Amar Chhorda Amar Paray" with the image of a working woman embossed by the side.
"We have sought to hit upon words, phrases which can instantly connect with the common man, in this case a lady, who is confronted with these issues," a spokesman for the team managing the campaign told PTI here.
The spokesman claimed that no such teaser campaign had been attempted before in any elections campaign in Bengal.
Another person connected with the campaign said, "We had brainstorming session with Somenda soon after his Lok Sabha candidature was announced. We explored issues and subjects with which people, masses and the upper strata in the North Kolkata constituency can connect with him."
He said that the campaign is also aimed at young people in the age group of 18-35 who constitute a large chunk of the electorate.
The veteran leader, not previously familiar with social networking sites, has also opened a Facebook account to post regular updates on his campaign and messages.