They might have won many a heart through their acting skills and well-choreographed dance moves for years, but Bengali actress-duo Mimi Chakraborty and Nusrat Jahan have created a virtual storm in social media after their nomination as candidates of West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress for the coming Lok Sabha polls.
Memes, jokes - both crude and witty - comments and likes have flooded Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp. The two actresses have also been trolled by some netizens, who posted memes of the revealing costumes worn by them in their reel roles.
A native of north Bengal's Jalpaiguri, Chakraborty, who debuted in the Bengali film industry in 2012, is set to contest from south Kolkata's Jadavpur constituency while Jahan, who kick-started her career as an actress in 2011, will contest from North 24 Pargana district's Basirhat.
Shortly after the announcement on Tuesday, Jahan re-tweeted a post by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, where she wrote she was "happy and proud" that 41 per cent of the Trinamool's candidates are women.
This particular tweet by the actress has been loved by more than 2,000 people and re-tweeted over 400 times, with many congratulating her and wishing her luck for "the new innings".
Many people have congratulated Chakraborty and some have already announced she would get their "deserved votes". But there are also others who have suggested she stay away from politics to become a good actress.
A substantial section of netizens were not happy with Banerjee's choices.
Terming Banerjee's decision to field a political greenhorn like Chakraborty from the prestigious Jadavpur seat a "disgrace", a netizen said it is an insult to political heavyweights like former Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and ex-Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee who contested from there multiple times.
"Mimi Chakraborty standing from Jadavpur constituency is a disgrace. Jadavpur has been a cradle of high-profile political fights in the past where heavyweights such as late Somnath Chatterjee our former Chief Minister of Bengal Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and even the TMC supremo stood from. What kind of political experience does she have," the netizen asked.
Another social media user posted pictures of the two actresses dancing in an item number in their movie and criticised Banerjee for fielding them.
"I have to say that MOOmta didi is having wonderful sense of selecting election candidates. MOOmta didi has hit where it hurts," the individual wrote on Facebook.
A popular stand-up comedian from Bengal gave the Trinamool Congress acronym - TMC - a whole new twist by saying that it actually stands for "The Mimi Chakraborty". The post has been liked by over 1,000 social media users.
A Twitter user, clearly upset about the development, said Mamata Banerjee should know that unlike IPL, politics does not need cheerleaders.
"TMC giving seats to candidates who have never had any exposure to politics and probably not have enough time to work for the people if elected. I believe TMC still thinks that Bengalis are dumb film fanatics who would vote for them because they are good looking filmstars...And if they really win, I would doubt if Bengal is really a literate state," another netizen posted.
Whatsapp groups were also flooded by funny memes over the two actress' entry into politics.
While some took a dig at Chakraborty's former companion and Bengali filmmaker Raj Chakraborty, some others made fun of Jahan's lines in a famous toothpaste advertisement.
Bengali actor Rudraneel Chakraborty, who is close to the Trinamool Congress, came out in defence of the two actresses, claiming joining politics from the entertainment industry was very common across the world.
--IANS
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