Shashurbari will swing it for me, says Deepa

Subhro Maitra TNN
Malda: Shashurbari Zindabad! If Deepa Das Munshi returns smiling — and victorious — from the heat and dust of an election summer in Raiganj, she’ll surely have those words on her lips. For, as Priya Ranjan Das Munshi’s wife makes the leap from state politics — she is an MLA from Goalpokhar — to the national arena in the 15th Lok Sabha poll, she’ll sincerely be hoping her ‘in-laws’ swing it in her favour. For one, this is the first time Kaliaganj, where Priya has his ancestral home, has been included in the Raiganj constituency. Kaliaganj was in Balurghat before delimitation. Secondly, traditional Congress strongholds of Ratua, Harishchandarpur and Kharba have gone out of Raiganj, again thanks to delimitation. Deepa will need all the support from new bases like Kaliaganj to win from Raiganj, which has returned Priya twice to Parliament. “I’m banking on my shashurbari,” quipped Deepa while speaking to TOI on her way to Chakulia. She’s not worried, as she has managed the Congress tightrope well so far — looking after her own constituency as well as her ailing husband’s and sorting out feuds within the party. Neither Priya nor Deepa had to bother about Kaliaganj so far. “Being in Balurghat, it did not get the attention it deserved. Naturally, people there have grievances,” said Deepa. Her confidence stems from the fact that in the last rural election, Congress won the Kaliaganj panchayat samiti. Political calculations apart, Deepa is also banking on her own charisma and the sympathy wave for the ailing Priya. Proof: Deepa turned up one-and-a-half hours late — 11.30 am instead of 10 am — for her meeting with artists and cultural personalities at Shila Bhawan in Raiganj on Saturday. But there was not a murmur of anger. “How can we put pressure on her? She has to constantly shuttle between Delhi and Raiganj,” said Sandip, her close aide. She struck the right note every time she spoke of her husband. “Someone who had Raiganj so close to his heart is in hospital, unable to speak. Still, I’m here as politicians have no room for personal sorrow,” she said. After a dusty 70-km drive, Deepa reached Chakulia at 2.30 pm for a meeting with Congress workers. Pabitra Chanda, her Man Friday, narrated how she was initially unwilling to leave her son alone in Delhi and fight the election. “But we told her that thousands of her sons in Raiganj needed her as well,” Chanda said, to loud applause. Aware that the area was minority dominated, Deepa spoke of Priya’s initiatives for the development of minorities. Bolstered by local support, Deepa was not worried about Karim Choudhury, the eighttime Islampur MLA. Choudhury quit Trinamool to launch his new outfit. “I don’t worry about Choudhury. People are with Priyada; no individual can mislead them,” she said. Boudi’s voice was confident.