Five kilometres apart,two houses in Kolkata contrasted each other on Thursday,Mamata Banerjees at Kalighat buzzing with activity and Buddhadeb Bhattacharjees at Palm Avenue silent,at least on the outside. One thing was common,though: a vendor doing brisk business outside. Nitai Haldar kept selling election merchandise 20 yards from Mamatas house but all his gulaal was one colour. Outside Buddhadebs house,Kapildeo Prasad sold kulfis but a policeman warned him his business would go down soon. Kalighat Haldars caps,umbrellas and flags have symbols of all parties but all his gulaal is green. Whats the point in stocking red gulaal? he smiles. Everything will turn green from tomorrow. It represented the mood across Harish Chatterjee Street,an air of expectancy. The house itself has become a fairground of sorts,17 labourers setting up a huge stage and canopy for an inevitable press conference,party workers and leaders coming and going,besides journalists from across the country. We stayed up all night and will have to stay up tonight too. Its a chance to be part of history, said Lob Pyne,one of the workers. Didi came out four to five times last night to supervise our work. She sent tea too. Mukul Roy supervised work by day. I am a bit tense, he admitted,but we all know what will eventually happen. We wonder how Didi can be so relaxed. On Wednesday evening,Mamata had told reporters to try to accommodate yourselves within the limited space I can offer you and instructed her office workers to arrange for water and seating arrangements. A table has been set up in front of her office,with a jar of mineral water,plastic cups and a coffee-vending machine. A student leader said all are welcome to watch the arrival of the verdict along with the party top brass; a giant screen will be set up in the conference room. She is very relaxed,listening to music,working on documents and watching news. She cannot ever sit idle, said Mamatas youngest brother Subrata Banerjee. Their mother Gayatri Devi,though bedridden,is excited about watching the result on television. Things will change here, said Shibu Saha,son of the familys neighbourhood grocer,but for us Didi remains the same person who takes a midnight stroll,interacts with neighbours,feeds the local dogs whom she calls Laden and Bush, he added. The local club has ordered sackfuls of green gulaal. Women are ready with conch shells. Supporters and candidates are bringing in crates of sweets, said Mamatas personal assistant Ratan Mukherjee Palm Avenue Bhattacharjee has lived in the Palm Avenue house for 30 years,a two-room flat on rent,700 sq feet,most of it crammed with books. The state administration had urged him to move after bombing and shooting incidents involving gangsters but the Chief Minister had refused. Party insiders said he is too attached to the apartment. Only the police kiosks outside give any impression that the Chief Minister lives here. A plainclothes cop told kulfi seller Prasad,If he loses there will no longer be so many policemen. to buy your kulfis. Only a few people will be on duty. Prasad said the house in quiet anyway. Buddhadeb babu is a quiet person. Prasad has been selling kulfis and fried chips for 15 years and says he will be sorry if the CM loses. Neighbour Pintu Ghosh,30,called Buddhadeb a nice man,honest and a very different kind of politician. Buddhadeb was at Alimuddin Street briefly during the day. Party leaders put up a show of confidence. The Chief Minister has not been seen at Writers Buildings since April 27.
