Although election campaign for arguably the most crucial Assembly election has started in full swing, the accompanying sound and fury is missing. The blaring of loudspeakers at every nook and corner of Kolkata would have drowned any conversation in the past but today the city streets are free of noise pollution. No, the
loquacious political leaders and their over enthusiastic workers have suddenly not become environment friendly. The reason for this lack of sound and fury is high court ban on the use of loud speakers during board examinations.
The Higher Secondary and ISC examinations will continue for another ten days and microphones will remain inoperative till April 10. Although filing of nominations for first and second phases of the six-phase election has started, no political party has been able to organise a big public meeting due to this handicap. The Left Front leaders had kickstarted their campaign with a massive rally at the sprawling Brigade Parade Ground in the city on February 10 but that was weeks before the board exmainations began.
Turning this handicap into an opportunity, the Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has started doing road shows. She led a padyatra from Joka-Thakurpukur to Behala — Taratala on last Sunday to seek vote for two heavyweight candidates from Behala East and Behala West: Mayor of Kolkata Sovan Chatterjee and Leader of Opposition in Assembly Partha Chatterjee. Thousands of people lined up on both sides of the road to see their Didi. This was indeed successful.
However, her second road show which began from Tala Park and culminated in Phholbagan and covered four Assembly constituencies-Kashipore-Belgachhia, Shyampukur, Maniktala and Beleghata — was a much bigger success. The kind of public response Ms Banerjee received, she clearly took north Kolkata by storm. She has lined up three more such road shows for the city and its peripheries before she leaves for campainging in the districts. The significant aspect of these road shows or padyatras is that Ms Banerjee does not address the people. They merely see her and not hear her.
But this has not dampened the enthusiasm of her party supporters and common people who are flocking to her road shows in large numbers. “Seeing the huge turnout it is difficult to say whether this is an election campaign padyatra or a victory rally,” Trinamul Congress MP Sudip Bandopadhyay remarked after the north Kolkata road show.