Left Youth Brigade Ready for the Big Fight
Subinoy Moulik
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WHAT has added a whole new dimension to the electoral situation in Bengal is the presence of vibrant young Left candidates in a number of constituencies. The presence of this young brigade in the electoral struggle is very significant to defeat the politics of hatred and strengthen the struggle for establishing a policy-based alternative. Among the young contenders, two former student leaders and one current student leader have caught the attention of all. Pratikur Rahman, former state president of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), is contesting from the Diamond Harbour constituency against the heir apparent of the Trinamool Congress, chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee. In the Jadavpur Lok Sabha constituency, the Left Front nominated Congress supported CPI(M) candidate is Srijan Bhattacharya who served as the West Bengal SFI state secretary. Dipsita Dhar, all India joint secretary of SFI, is the Left Front-backed CPI(M) candidate in the Srirampur Lok Sabha constituency.
DIAMOND HARBOUR
The electoral situation in Diamond Harbour is particularly disturbing. Democracy faces the most perilous situation at Diamond Harbour. With loads and loads of unearned money acquired through doubtful means at its disposal, Abhishek Banerjee’s party takes recourse to all kinds of unfair means such as widespread coercion and mass rigging to ensure its large margin of victory. Though the odds may be against him, Pratikur along with other comrades is putting up a brave fight. Hundreds of posters and banners bearing his name and electoral symbol are being torn down and many of the wall writings are being defaced. A significant portion of the electorate has not had the opportunity to vote for many years. Voters' cards were taken away by intimidation and threats; they were not allowed to go to the booth and were made to sit at home on the day of polling despite their names being on the voting list. It has even happened that in several areas, the entry of opposition party candidates has been blocked. No matter how much we say that this is not a municipal or panchayat election, and that these elections are conducted under the Representation of the Peoples Act, and the Central Election Commission bears the direct responsibility, the reality is that there are many areas in Diamond Harbor which are strictly ‘no-entry’ zones for the political activities of the opposition parties. The police have become the handmaiden of Trinamool. So the biggest challenge in front of Pratikur is to get people to the polling stations.
Pratikur Rahman’s home is in the remote village of Basuldanga, Diamond Harbour. A young leader from rural Bengal, Pratikur’s college life started at Diamond Harbour itself. This is where his student politics began. It was here that Trinamool goons repeatedly attacked him and even tried to take his life, injuring him severely but could not finish him off. Though he is a first timer in Lok Sabha polls he knows the neighbourhoods of this constituency like the back of his hand. He is conducting an extensive door-to-door campaign advocating for democracy and transparency and urging voters to exercise their voting rights, braving all odds. What he is seeing, he said, is that, “even though the nephew claims he has turned Diamond Harbor into El Dorado in ten years, the real picture is grim. Some of the main issues facing the Diamond Harbor constituency include widespread unemployment, underemployment, and migration of labour; a lack of significant development; shortages and pollution of drinking water; and land grabbing.”
As “competitive communalism” or “competitive religious chauvinism” has become a recurring feature of Bengal politics, social division and disharmony is getting intensified in Diamond Harbour too. These are some of the major issues that are coming up in Pratikur's campaign. State leaders of the Left Front including Md Salim are participating in the campaign. Local Left and Congress workers are working together. Pratikur’s candidature has brought a sense of hope and enthusiasm to the electoral landscape, and his presence has garnered significant attention and support, especially among the youth.
JADAVPUR
Jadavpur constituency, a vast sprawl across Kolkata's southern suburbs is most probably the largest constituency in West Bengal in terms of area. From 2009 to date, Jadavpur has been deprived of effective public representation. The three Trinamool candidates who have consecutively become MPs have had no direct contact with the public life of this constituency. These part-time politicians – the singer, the NRI academic, and the actress – made no effort to bring about any significant development in Jadavpur. Not a single central project came up for Jadavpur. Even during the dire days of the pandemic, the Trinamool MP remained missing. TMC itself had no faith in their own candidates. They changed their candidates every five years in the last three terms.
Leaving aside recent exceptional years, Jadavpur has always been a constituency historically inclined towards Left-wing politics. This time in Jadavpur, Congress-backed Left candidate Srijan Bhattacharya is confident that people will choose CPI(M) if they can vote. The massive gathering in all meetings and rallies reflects the positive vibes of Jadavpur. Our campaign has been covered extensively in the local media. Party Polit Bureau members Brinda Karat, Suryakanta Mishra, Party state secretary Md Salim, Party senior leader Gautam Dev and student and youth leaders are being present in his campaign.
Srijan, a long time resident of Jadavpur who holds postgraduate degree in History from Jadavpur University, is sparing no effort in the electoral campaign to revitalise the Left's support base in the constituency. Srijan's suave demeanor, ever-smiling face and strong political convictions not only struck a chord with the youth, but also drew encouragement from prominent intellectuals of the city. Srijan Bhattacharya's style of campaigning is a tangible protest against the ugly culture of personal attacks on opponents that the Trinamool has brought in vitiating the political atmosphere of Bengal. The essence of our campaign is to bring forward the basic issues of life and livelihood without giving importance to the futile rivalry of Trinamool and BJP. In this election, elect someone from Jadavpur who will work for you and the country for five years, not for his own benefit - is our clear appeal to the voters. The country needs change and so does Jadavpur, Srijan asserts. Our main policy proposals focus on improving education, healthcare, and infrastructure in Jadavpur; and we have pledged to work to reduce corruption and improve the quality of life for all residents of the constituency. Srijan has announced that he will raise the demand of making the right to work a fundamental right on his very first day in the parliament.
The Party has presented a comprehensive plan of action for Jadavpur. It includes ensuring the protection of Ramsar sites, expansion of the metro rail system from Garia to Baruipur, implementation of central schemes to improve drainage and drinking water supply, renovation of canals and reservoirs, strict measures against land grabbing, fly-overs over busy railway stations like Sonarpur, hospital at Bhangar, food processing industry for Baruipur fruit growers and assistance in export etc.
Jadavpur constituency includes Bhangar. Srijan and Md Salim led a big rally there on May 13. This is the only assembly segment where Left-Congress-backed ISF candidate Naushad Siddiqui had defeated the Trinamool-BJP in the last assembly elections. During these three years Trinamool harassed him in various ways and even sent him to jail on false charges. In Bhangar, his party workers and the Left are staunchly defending their organisations by resisting all Trinamool attacks. But there was no seat adjustment of ISF with the Left in this election. For a long time, various misleading stories were being spread in the media about this.
Salim clarified the matter in a brief meeting at the end of the rally. He said, "We still feel that it is our historic duty to bring together all the anti-Trinamool, anti-BJP forces in Bengal. We are trying to fulfill it. I believe that this break with ISF is temporary. There is no room for disharmony among us. We all aim to oust the BJP from the country and defeat the Trinamool in the state. Politics is not a 100 metre race. There is no such thing as impossible in politics because it is late. People of Bhangar know Trinamool very well. BJP has not got the ground to stand here. The people of Bhangar have to take their decisions with determination.” Srijan too emphasized the need for unity among anti-Trinamool anti-BJP forces.
SREERAMPUR
Election in Sreerampur constituency will be held on May 20. The campaign in favour of the Left Front nominated Congress-backed candidate Dipsita Dhar has reached its final stage. Dipsita Dhar's candidacy is significant because if she wins, she would be the first woman MP to win in the Sreerampur Lok Sabha constituency since 1952. This would be a historic achievement and a major step forward for women's representation in politics.
Tirelessly conducting door-to-door campaigns across the constituency and holding meetings one after the other, our Party has been highlighting the issue of women's empowerment among other issues. Our Party has said that if we win, initiatives would be taken to provide waiting stations for gig workers. Crèche facility will be opened for working women. Dedicated bathrooms will be provided at places for urban working women. Self defense workshops will be organised for women in general.
Apart from politics, what is attracting more and more people especially the youth and the women towards the young candidate are Dipsita's fluent communication skills. At times in the middle of the speech she breaks into a mass song that enthralls the audience.
Another important thing is that the BJP has given a walkover to Trinamool in Sreerampur and has virtually vanished from the political scene. The BJP candidate who is the former son-in-law of the sitting Trinamool MP Kalyan Banerjee is nowhere to be seen. It is now almost a straight contest between Trinamool and CPI(M).
The Hooghly industrial belt was built factory after factory. One after the other small-large-medium factories including jute mills, cotton mills, car factories, and tire factories grew up. It's almost over now. The sitting Trinamool MP could not do anything in the last fifteen years. Our Party has said that we will take the initiative to build a jute processing centre in Rajbalhat. We will try to get public investment for sick PSUs. And what is the Trinamool candidate saying? The sitting MP is feeling so helpless that he has embarked on an open vilification campaign against Dipsita.
In Sreerampur, Left and Congress workers are working together right up to the booth level. Already the central leadership including Brinda Karat, Md Salim participated in the campaign here. Brinda participated in a big women's rally where the number of youth was significant. All that can be said is that on the 20th, Sreerampur will witness a sharp electoral contest.
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