- Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari face off again in Bhabanipur on April 29
- Bhabanipur's voter base is a diverse mix of Bengalis, Marwaris, Punjabis, and minorities
- Residents praise Trinamool's welfare schemes like Kanyashree and widow pensions
In the lanes and bylanes of Bhabanipur, the election temperature is sky high. This assembly constituency in Kolkata is gearing up for the greatest of all battles in the upcoming West Bengal elections: a rematch between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on April 29.
After losing from Nandigram by a whisker against Adhikari, her protege, in 2021, Banerjee fought a bypoll from Bhabanipur to retain her membership in the assembly. She won with a landslide margin of over 58,000 votes against the BJP's Priyanka Tibrewal. The Trinamool consolidated a huge vote share from this constituency, while the BJP bagged 23% of votes.
Read: Factors That Make Bhabanipur A Key Battleground
Unique Blend Of Voters
Often denoted as the "mini-India" of Kolkata, an amalgamation of Bengali and non-Bengali voters forms this segment. About 40% of the population here are Hindu-Bengalis. Another 40% comprise the Marwaris, Punjabis, Gujaratis, and Biharis. About 20% belong to the minority community. Such a blend of different communities living together makes this constituency unique.
While on one hand, it is home to some top industrialists, on the other, there are slums, and on that spectrum depends the fate of candidates in this constituency.
'Didi Will Win'
In Ward number 72, Sushma Devi is very happy with the Trinamool government and her candidate, Mamata Banerjee.
"Drinking water was a big problem in the locality. That has been resolved. We get adequate supply," she tells NDTV, confident that Banerjee has the blessings of the state's voters.
"She has done so much for the state everyone can see for themselves," she adds.
Read: A Tale Of Two Constituencies: Bhabanipur And Nandigram
Pooja, 27, a resident of Bhabanipur, says that the government's welfare schemes are a clincher.
"I'm a beneficiary of the Kanyashree scheme, and my mother gets a widow pension. It's the additional money above and over the daily income that Didi has given us. Bengal will elect her daughter. We want Mamata Didi to win again," she says, waiting in a queue at a ward office in Bhabanipur.
Calls For Change Are Constant
In Jaggu Babu Bazar, shopkeepers deal a pack of cards as customers remain thin and time runs slow. The expectations from politicians to work for the people are very low, a shopkeeper tells NDTV.
"Whoever comes, fills their own pockets, and forgets about the people," he says. "Look at how the roads have been dug up for months; it's affecting people's daily commute. The youth only want easy money. There is no aspiration in the state," he adds.
A man selling clothes for children in a store next to his strikes a similar tone. "We don't have any customers; we don't have any alternate income. We want parivartan (change)," he says.
Read: From His Turf To Her Fort: Big Signal In Suvendu Adhikari's Bhabanipur Dare
Battles Of Promises
While the official manifestos are yet to be released by both the Trinamool and the BJP, the latter has promised recruitment in government jobs within two months of coming to power and that the eligibility age will be increased from 35 to 40 years.
Meanwhile, the Trinamool's latest Yuvasathi scheme has already been rolled out, under which unemployed youth up to the age of 40 will get a monthly benefit of Rs 1,500 till 5 years or till the time they get a job.
As the summer temperature scales, the political heat has also gone up in the state. Bhabanipur now waits for its candidates to hit the streets and make their promises for the next five years.
