Ghani Khan clan banks on legacy

Barkatda is gone, but his magic is still alive. His niece and brother are basking in his glory. And the Left finds it can’t ignore the legacy
Krishnendu Bandyopadhyay & Subhro Maitra TNN
Malda: Malda patriarch Abu Barkat Ataul Ghani Khan Chowdhury — Barkatda to supporters — is no more. Yet, his shadow looms large, at least over Malda South and Malda North, from where his brother Abu Hasem Khan Chowdhury (Daluda) and his niece Mausam Benazir Noor are contesting the parliamentary election. In Malda, 330 km north of Kolkata, the Left still finds it awkward to deal with Ghani Khan’s spectre, even three years after his death. The people of Malda fondly remember how Ghani Khan, as railway minister, became an agent of change for Malda. He became Pradesh Congress chief and an invincible MP from Malda. “If the Gandhis are the first family of Indian politics, the Ghani Khan clan is indisputably the first family of Malda,” says Soumitra Roy, a spirited youth Congress leader from Ratua, an arid zone of north Malda. So, 80-90% of the speeches of both Daluda and Mausam revolve round ‘Barkatda’ or ‘Barkatmama’ (Barkat-uncle). “Barkatda never asked for votes. People used to sway to his waving hand. Mausam is hard-working and intelligent. She going everywhere, meeting people and asking for votes in the name of her late uncle. It is creating magic,” says Ratan Dasgupta, a keen observer of Malda’s politics for decades. The dusty village path of Salatpur, a remote area in north Malda, resembles Amethi as Mausam enters the arena, virtually raising a dust-storm. She stands seemingly unperturbed on a jeep as swirls of dust choke the lungs. Women jostle just to touch her. Youngsters click her pictures on mobile phones. Draped in a light salwar, dupatta and tricolour uttariyo, Mausam said: “I am overwhelmed by the people’s response. I am not even one full-term (five year) old in my Sujapur Assembly constituency. So, here I am known by my late uncle. I am only humbly reminding the electorate of Barkatmama and Priyamama (Priya Ranjan Das Munshi) about this.” After delimitation, some parts of Priya Ranjan’s Raiganj parliamentary constituency have become a part of newly created Malda North seat. For the first time, the Left is nurturing a craving for this seat. A seasoned Sailen Sarkar, the state’s environment and parliamentary affairs minister, has been pitted against the young Mausam. Sarkar, who was defeated thrice by Ghani and once by his brother Dalu in the undivided Malda parliamentary seat, feels his chances of winning Malda North are “very high”. Mausam retorts: “I have a family tradition of defeating him.” Mausam’s supporters say Sarkar’s own slogan may boomerang. In 2004, Sarkar coined the slogan: “Tarunyer jhare, jhore pore shukno pata (Dry leaves drop in the storm of the youth).” Young Pranab Das was fielded against Barkatda in his last election. Not many people liked Barkatda being compared to a dry leaf. “But now, Mausam is surely a storm and Sarkar a dry leaf,” they say. However, Mausam’s candidature has created a sharp rift in the Kotwali family (Ghani’s family house is in the Kotwali area, on the outskirts of Malda town). Malda district Congress president Daluda wanted his brother Abu Naser Khan Chowdhury (Lebu) to be the candidate for the newly formed North seat. But, much to the surprise of the family, AICC gave the ticket to Mausam. PCC chief Pranab Mukherjee had to intervene and Daluda, Lebuda and Mausam jointly came before the media. But it seems to be a fragile peace. Neither Daluda nor Lebuda has campaigned for Mausam yet. Malda South candidate Daluda does not even hide his unhappiness over Mausam’s candidature. “She should have served her Sujapur Assembly constituency well before entering the Lok Sabha fray. She is very young,” he paused, quickly rectifying himself: “She is my niece. How can I oppose her?” A section of the Congress is sceptical of Lebuda as well. “Congress supporters cannot forget that he stood against Barkatda as an Independent candidate at the behest of Sailen Sarkar,” said a party worker. “If Daluda thinks that Malda South will be a cakewalk, he is wrong. He hasn’t done anything for Malda since Barkatda’s death,” said CPM district secretary Jiban Maitra.