Opinion Violent words in an unemployed town

So,even though,just north of the city,Amit Mitra — formerly secretary-general of Ficci,now the local candidate for the Trinamool Congress — is locked in battle with CPM finance minister Asim Dasgupta,business issues just do not come up in this high-profile campaign. This even though it has become the election’s iconic battle — since Mamata Banerjee is not contesting from anywhere.

Khardah represents all that besets Bengal. The bustling markets are dominated by jewellery shops,coaching centres and all sorts of kirana shops. But unlike Mumbai,despite being a suburb of Kolkata,the local trains leaving Sealdah in Kolkata in the evening do not overflow with office-goers returning. The city provides employment opportunities to only some in Khardah. Instead,they travel to the myriad jute mills that line both sides of the town,while the rest find employment in a huge profusion of small trades. Self-employment in the state is one of the highest in the country,and Dasgupta is happy to include them in his statistics on the industrial workforce,to claim employment is improving.

When we catch up with Mitra,he is drenched in sweat despite the cool dhoti and kurta that sit oddly with the sneakers he also is wearing. The afternoon has been typical for South Bengal,hot and intensely humid,and Mitra has already been walking for a long time. As he waves to all the members of the houses that he walks past in the serpentine lanes,Trinamool cadre cocoon him protectively. One of them informs me this was deep left territory till recently. Mitra is sure he can change that.

As he walks the lanes that can allow just four people to walk abreast,he is scathing about his opponent. “You call this a road?”,he sneers,as I step up beside him. “See where these people have left the state after 33 years.” Despite being as far from South Kolkata as Nehru Place is from South Block,Khardah has just one road buses can use; the main polling booth is at a semi-pucca building,which,once a primary school,was converted into a club by the ruling party,due to a lack of “space”.

But later in the evening,Dasgupta points to the same road,to say how these have sharply improved. Unlike Mitra,the state finance minister refuses to discuss his opponent. “You will notice”,he says,“I don’t ask for votes.” Instead he walks into each house to shake hands with all the adults,restricting himself to generalities,offering a pat to the kids of the house.

He is almost apologetic for the long line of his followers that frequently bring traffic to a halt on these lanes. Sorry,he tells a rickshaw-puller,for the disturbance. The man is glad to shake the minister’s hand.

The CPM councillor accompanying Dasgupta is,however,more methodical. He checks up with a family about a guest,making a reassuring sound,once informed the guest will leave before the elections.

In the last elections,in one of the constituencies,the rise in population — including infants — matched the increase in the electoral rolls. The election commission had to do a recount to get the right tally. The Trinamool’s cheerleaders,with those thoughts in mind,tell the people repeatedly to come early in the day to vote.

In the semi-dark roads,once the procession of his supporters are a safe distance away,Dasgupta is willing to discuss with me,in detail,the reasons for the huge rise in the state’s debt burden. He points out Maharashtra has a larger debt overhang,and West Bengal is basically paying the price of carrying a massive teacher population on the state exchequer. Mitra classifies that as “cadre payments”.

But will this mean taking unpopular decisions,like raising local taxes and cutting grants,once a new government comes to power? Mitra,too,is not keen to discuss these in front of his supporters. Snatching a few moments,he says that revenue is not a problem. The state may not need to raise more.

What about land for industry? By now,Mitra is getting visibly uncomfortable. “I am only a small cog in the wheels”,he insists. He smiles nervously when I remind him that the media is projecting him as the finance minister-designate. All the graffiti describe him as Padma Shri — but none refer to his role with industry. His supporters say the people know about it,and do not need to be reminded.

By the time the elections are over in this constituency,on April 27,the two economists will have covered the constituency several times over. But none of them plan on using the public pulpit they have at the moment to discuss the economy and their plan of action,even though the Trinamool has built its present position partly on land issues. Instead,both candidates engage me seriously about a political murder which happened that afternoon in the locality. No large enterprise,no employment,no urban development subjects figure in the dialogue with voters. Murders,rigging,Singur and Nandigram are good enough material to sustain them till then.

The writer is Executive Editor (News),‘The Financial Express’