Netaji's grand nephew begins poll campaign

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's grand nephew Chandra Bose, nominated by the BJP as its candidate from the Bhowanipore assembly seat from where West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is also scheduled to file his candidature, launched his campaign on Thursday from the revolutionary leader's house in South Kolkata's Elgin Road.

Chandra Bose, who paid floral tributes to Netaji's statute in front of the historic house, from where the leader had made his great escape in 1941, said he was not thinking about the outcome of the tough fight.

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"I am not thinking of either victory or defeat. I consider it a proud privilege that I have got an opportunity to serve the people."

However, as he kick started his canvassing, the huge gates of the building that also houses the Netaji Research Bureau (NRB), remained shut.

The NRB is virtually controlled by Sugato Bose - another grandnephew of Netaji, and his mother Krishna bose. While Sugato is a Trinamool Congress MP, Krishna is a former member of the Lower house of parliament.

She was a three-time MP elected once on Congress and twice on Trinamool tickets.

But Chandra Bose said he would appeal to the mother-son duo to vote for him.

Bose slammed the Trinamool regime in the state, saying it has failed to usher in industrialisation.