Abhishek Banerjee versus Abhishek Banerjee. Or AB in 2019 versus AB in 2024.

That in a nutshell is the tale of Diamond Harbour, now one of Bengal’s VIP Lok Sabha constituencies, represented by Abhishek Banerjee, bhaipo, or nephew, of chief minister Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress’s national general secretary.

Of course, there are candidates from the BJP, CPM and ISF in the fray along with sundry others, in the constituency spanning across the southern fringes of Bengal.

However, the optics in the larger part of the Diamond Harbour constituency present a sharp contrast to Bengal’s remaining 41 Lok Sabha seats, highlighting why it is called the “Diamond Harbour model”.

CPM's Pratikur Rahaman, in a picture shared on Facebook, campaigns in Diamond Harbour and (in Telegraph picture right) BJP candidate Abhijit Das on the campaign trail.

The term “Diamond Harbour model” was coined during the pandemic when Abhishek took the initiative to conduct 50,000 Covid-19 tests in a day as his party workers raised funds to buy test kits over and above those provided by the government.

A week before polling day, this correspondent drove almost 65km through Pailan, Amtala, Falta, Sarisha, and Diamond Harbour. Flags or posters and flexes of Opposition parties were few and far between. Abhishek and Mamata were ubiquitous — banners, posters, cutouts of the Trinamool Big Two were everywhere. The message is clear about who controls the constituency and one can also get an answer to why the BJP took a long time to choose a candidate against Mamata’s heir-apparent.

After a long wait and much speculation, the saffron camp had announced the name of Abhijit Das, who unsuccessfully contested in 2009, to take on Abhishek, the TMC national general secretary.

Abhishek, who won in 2014 and 2019, is contesting the seat for the third time. In 2019, he won by a margin of over 3.2 lakh votes. In the 2021 Assembly election, the TMC won all 31 seats in South 24-Parganas district under which Diamond Harbour falls.

“Everyone in the state, even in the country, knows that Abhishek Banerjee will win the elections. So, the victory is not a challenge here. Our challenge is to increase the margin. Dada says it should cross 4 lakh. Our goal is to make the margin bigger,” said Samim Ahamed, 34, the TMC observer for the Diamond Harbour Assembly segment, one of seven in the Lok Sabha constituency.

Barber Shibu Das in Falta.

Like Samim, observers have been assigned for each of the other six Assembly segments — Falta, Bishnupur, Metiabruz, Budge Budge, Satgachhia, and Maheshtala.

A Trinamool leader said an observer for each Assembly segment is yet another example of the Diamond Harbour model.

“The local MLA of a particular area is usually the party’s minder in other regions. In Diamond Harbour, Abhishek has appointed observers to take care of political affairs. Most importantly, all the seven are young,” said a TMC leader.

Post his 2019 victory, Abhishek launched a slew of initiatives exclusively for his constituency that other MPs could not. Apart from conducting Covid tests, Abhishek’s brigade ran community kitchens in each block of the area and consistently supplied free food packets every day during the pandemic.

As Abhishek can’t visit his constituency frequently because of his responsibilities in the party, in June 2022, he launched Ek Dakey Abhishek, a scheme under which his constituents could dial a toll-free number to reach out to his office with their issues.

“Usually we first take up our issues with local panchayat members. In case he fails to fulfil it, we directly call Ek Dakey Abhishek and we get the job done,” said Ruma Sarkar, a resident of Kalagachia village.

The latest in the series of the Diamond Harbour model was Shrodhyargho (tribute) — a scheme in which over 16,000 party workers voluntarily contributed funds towards giving a monthly pension of ₹1,000 to 76,000 elderly persons in Abhishek’s constituency.

Shibu Das, a barber who runs a small salon in Falta, said the Opposition did not exist here because of Abhishek’s development initiatives.

“How can you see the Opposition? Certainly, there are voters of other political parties, but their number is not enough compared to TMC’s support base,” said Das, as he trimmed the beard of a client.

BJP’s Bengal heavyweight Suvendu Adhikari turned up for a rally at Amtala on Wednesday. The other notable BJP leader to have campaigned in Diamond Harbour is Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. But the BJP big three --- Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and J.P. Nadda --- did not campaign on Abhishek’s turf.

Why?

“I don’t know why they did not come here,” said a visibly disappointed BJP candidate Abhijit Das, sitting in his election office in Amtala.

Though the TMC is gung-ho about breaking past records thanks to the Diamond Harbour model, his rivals count terror as the reason for Abhishek’s electoral success.

CPM candidate Pratikur Rahaman, who till recently was an SFI leader, ridiculed the “so-called Diamond
Harbour model” and equated it with TMC’s “reign of
terror”.

“The Diamond Harbour model in reality is all about oppressing voters, supporters and leaders of Opposition
parties. We did paint the walls in the constituency to seek votes but you will hardly be able to see those. Our wall graffiti has been white-washed everywhere and that’s exactly what the so-called Diamond Harbour model is. People can’t even speak against TMC’s terror,” said Rahaman.

BJP’s Das echoed Rahaman. “We had put up party flags and flexes at various places, but TMC’s goons have pulled those down. The Diamond Harbour model is TMC’s modus operandi to wipe out dissent,” said Das.

Abhishek’s trusted lieutenant Samim rebutted the Opposition allegations.

“It is Dada’s election. This phenomenon is completely different from other elections like Assembly or local body polls. Even those who favour Opposition parties become inactive as they also want Abhishek Banerjee as the Diamond Harbour MP,” said Samim, sitting at his office in Sarisha.

Diamond Harbour votes on June 1