Eyeing Lok Sabha comeback, unfazed Mahua Moitra cranks up her campaign, goes hyperlocal

“O Didi, bhalo achho? Lakshmir Bhandar peyechho? Ashirbad koro (How are you, sister? Did you get Lakshmir Bhandar (a monthly financial assistance scheme for women). I need your blessings).”

Perched on an open jeep, hands folded, Mahua Moitra urges a group of women standing in a huddle near their homes. “Haan, peyechhi. Tumi bhalo achho (Yes, got it. How are you doing?),” comes the reply. Then they extend their hands, which is clasped by Moitra.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) firebrand is criss-crossing the Krishnanagar Lok Sabha constituency through the highway and narrow village roads across the Nadia district. Moitra has again got the TMC ticket from the seat despite being disqualified from the Lok Sabha in December last year in connection with the alleged cash-for-query case.

She seems to be in a hurry to get back her seat, mounting a vigorous, high-voltage campaign.

It’s not even 9 am, but the blazing sun is already beating down on the streets of Krishnanagar. The Tropic of Cancer cuts across this part, and it manages to make its presence felt. The temperature, above 40°C, feels much more. Moitra, wearing a blue cotton sari paired with her trademark full-sleeved blouse, seems undeterred by the heat, as she takes the flaring village roads off the Karimpur-Krishnanagar highway.

In short, precise sentences, she briefs her team on the day’s agenda. “Just say on the mike that your candidate Mahua Moitra has come to meet you. Nothing else, not even slogans against the BJP. Keep it simple,” she instructs them.

The party workers and villagers swarm around the expelled MP, who is, according to the wall graffiti and loudspeaker announcements, the “ghorer meye, kaajer meye (hardworking, neighbourhood girl)” of Krishnanagar.

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