Barkatda’s niece plays family card in Malda

Mausam plays her dynasty card well. Instead of bringing in fresh perspective to her electoral pitch,she heavily relies on her lineage. This is ironic,given the recent family feud over the nomination for this parliamentary seat.

The man she beat to the ticket,her uncle Abu Naser Khan Chowdhury,puts it succinctly,“How can she afford not to use the family name in her campaign? It is her biggest,if not her only,trump card in this election.”

Mausam’s entry into politics happened amidst tragic circumstances barely three months ago. She was nominated by the West Bengal Pradesh Congress for the bypolls in Sujapur Assembly seat that fell vacant after the death of Mausam’s mother,Rubi Noor,Ghani Khan’s sister. Mausam swept the bypoll,clinching the victory with a margin of over 21,000 votes. Soon,Mausam was set to appear on the national arena with a nomination for the Malda (North) seat.

She says,“More than anyone else,Rahulji wanted me to contest.” Once Rahul gave the nod,the Congress high command stood by her. Prior to joining politics,she was a full-time lawyer,having worked in the Supreme Court for the past two years after a stint with legal firm Fox and Mandal.

Mausam’s campaign has taken her to villages 100 kilometres away from her imposing house in Kotwali,Malda. Perched atop an open jeep and wrapped in a cotton shawl sporting the party symbol,she leads the entourage that travels from village to village. The frenzy over Ghani Khan’s niece is evident: everywhere,crowds gather to catch a glimpse and a few privileged ones get to shake hands with her.

She begins her campaign speeches referring to her Supreme Court stint,but soon shifts to the family ace up her sleeve. She plays the sympathy card well,referring to her mother’s untimely death and how that brought her to politics. She talks about the “unfinished work” of Ghani Khan Chowdhury and her other uncles. She reminds voters that Abu Naser Khan Chowdhury did not get the ticket due to issues pertaining to his citizenship.

Three Assembly constituencies that previously fell under Raiganj Lok Sabha seat are now part of Malda (North). While campaigning in these constituencies,which prior to delimitation fell under Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi’s Raiganj constituency,she talks about the ailing leader and vows to take forward the “unfinished work of Priya mama”.

Mausam’s speeches expose her lack of insight into local issues and inexperience as a politician. There are a number of issues in Malda that need to be addressed: unemployment,lack of power,drinking water,basic healthcare. But by harping on the Ghani Khan Chowdhury lineage,Mausam probably touches the right chord. After all,even after his death,Ghani Khan,Barkatda as he was called,is still a political reality here. Mausam is aware of the influence the late Congress leader’s name still wields and she is exploiting it to the hilt.

The CPI(M) has fielded Environment and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sailen Sarkar against her. Sarkar had contested thrice against Ghani Khan Chowdhury. After his demise,Sarkar was fielded against his younger brother. Sarkar was defeated each time and earned the epithet haran babu from his comrades. His first margin of defeat was 1,800 votes which rose to over 89,000 in 2006.

After delimitation,five of the seven Assembly segments that constitute the Malda (North) Lok Sabha seat,are held by the Left. The Left Front also had more votes polled in its favour across these constituencies. Yet,the tussle for Malda (North) is not about arithmetic. In fact,the Ghani Khan factor can throw all calculations out of the window and give Mausam a thumping victory.