In Mahua vs Amrita Roy battle, don't forget the CPM

The curious onlookers that greet the candidates are, however, unaware about the importance of history. They are just there to catch a glimpse of ‘Rani Ma’ Amrita Roy or Mahua Moitra.

In Putul Patti-Ghurni, a seemingly ordinary neighbourhood in Krishnanagar -- about 112 km from Kolkata -- 43-year-old Abhijit Pal is carefully carving the pleats on a clay model of Ram Lalla. His attention to detail is unmistakable.

Patronised by Raja Krishnachandra Ray -- who belonged to the Nadia Raj dynasty and ruled in the 18th century -- the art of clay modelling has passed down generations across the studios and stores that dot the area.

The beauty of the miniature figurines -- typically 2 to 6 inches -- portraying everyday life, is in its lifelike feel. Occasionally, the potters dabble in models of leading lights of Bengal’s art, culture and social movements. But for now, the age-old art appears to be getting a political twist, filling up the coffers of artisans.

Abhijit’s cousin, Debashis, who has a store next door, has got an order for 200 clay models of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and 200 more for Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath.

“They have to be shipped to Lucknow a month before Diwali.”

About 50 per cent of Debashis’s orders are, anyway, from Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. “West Bengal neither has the money nor the market,” he rues.

Abhijit laments that the art of clay modelling in Krishnanagar is dying. “This art form is not attracting new talent. The state government needs to wake up and do something to preserve it. A training institute is the need of the hour.”

As Krishnanagar votes today, no prizes for guessing the button that Abhijit and Debashis are going to press on the electronic voting machine (EVM).

A high-octane battle

The atmosphere in this constituency has been politically charged for some time now.

Among the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, it’s perhaps the most keenly watched.

The incumbent is Trinamool Congress’s (TMC’s) firebrand MP Mahua Moitra, who was expelled from the Lok Sabha in December 2023 following an ethics committee report into the ‘cash for query’ charges against her.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has added a dash of royalty by fielding Amrita Roy or ‘Rani Ma’, who married into Krishnachandra Ray’s family. Not surprisingly, the political slugfest here has turned out to be like a history lesson revisited. 

The TMC narrative is largely that Raja Krishnachandra Ray sided with the British when Siraj-ud-Daulah was fighting against them in the Battle of Plassey (Palashi) in 1757.

It had paved the way for British rule in Bengal and India. To this, Amrita Roy famously responded that it was because of the torture of Siraj-ud-Daulah.

If Krishnachandra Roy had not done it, would Hinduism have survived? Would Sanatan Dharma have survived?

The curious onlookers on either side that greet the candidates are, however, unaware about the importance of the chapter in history. They are just there to catch a glimpse of ‘Rani Ma’ or Moitra, who strikes quite a pose in oversised sunglasses and handloom saris. In Jhitkipota, a woman gushes how Moitra held her hand while on a campaign trail.

The glamour quotient, however, is high on either side. “This is the first time I am seeing Rani Ma,” says a woman excitedly in Kaliganj where Amrita Roy was interacting with people on Wednesday. The phone cameras were out to capture the moment.

Another person says that this is the first time that the saffron party has fielded a worthy candidate since 1999 when Satyabrata Mookherjee was elected from Krishnanagar Lok Sabha constituency.

It took some prodding by the BJP to get Amrita Roy to agree, though. “I have been a totally apolitical person,” Roy tells Business Standard.

What changed her mind? The family's connect with the people was always there, she points out.

Roy also highlights the corruption in the current regime -- “it’s to the level that jobs are being sold.”

"We had the history of having a 'golden' Bengal - that is no longer there. As a Bengali, I would like to push it forward. But I can't do it alone and needed a platform," she adds.

That the stakes are high in this seat is evident from the fact that Roy was the only other Lok Sabha candidate from West Bengal to get a call from Modi when nominations were announced. The first was BJP candidate Rekha Patra from Sandeshkhali (LS seat, Basirhat).

‘Third factor’

Political observers, however, believe that a ‘third factor’ is looming large on the outcome of Krishnanagar.

According to political analyst Biswanath Chakraborty, if the CPI-M candidate cuts into minority votes, then it may be a problem for TMC.

He adds, “But if like the Lok Sabha election in 2019 or assembly polls in 2021, the entire Muslim vote goes in favour of TMC, then the BJP will lose. So, a third party will be an important factor.”

Krishnanagar Lok Sabha constituency has a 26.67 per cent Muslim population. The CPI-M has fielded S M Sadi from the minority community.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the CPI-M and Congress had fought separately and Moitra had won by a margin of 63,218 votes.

Mohammed Salim, CPI-M secretary in West Bengal, believes that in Krishnanagar, the party will not just be a deciding factor this time. “We will be the winner.”

“There is no distinct BJP wave and there is a lot of anger against the TMC. Krishnanagar is one place where the Left-Congress vote that had gone to TMC and BJP, has come back,” he adds. About 12-15 per cent of Bengali Muslims are shifting towards the Left-Congress here, according to Salim.

Whichever way the political wind blows in Krishnanagar, or any other constituency, the issues, however, are hyperlocal. It’s also why the welfare measures of the Mamata Banerjee government continue to be a big draw.

• India Votes 2024