Will they vote for a fellow Gujarati or will other considerations come into play?

Gujaratis in Bhowanipore have often faced this question from friends and acquaintances.

“I can tell you that it will not be a vote en masse for (Narendra) Modi (BJP), though my feeling is that the majority of the Gujaratis in Bhowanipore will vote for the BJP,” said Utpal Patel, a popular doctor in the area.

There are about 50,000 Gujarati-speaking people on the two sides of the road between Minto Park and Hazra, Patel said. The number of voters will be less and those who actually cast their votes even fewer.

“This is a national election and people would also want to have a strong government in New Delhi,” said another Gujarati, who requested anonymity.

Often called “mini-India” because of its cosmopolitan nature, Bhowanipore, a part of the Kolkata Dakshin constituency, has a high concentration of Gujaratis and Sikhs.

Sitting MP Mala Roy of Trinamool is pitted against the CPM’s Saira Shah Halim and the BJP’s Debasree Chaudhuri in the constituency.

The votes of the Sikhs, also present in large numbers in Bhowanipore, could be more concentrated in one place. “The way the BJP handled the farmers’ movement has hurt the Sikhs. That wound is still fresh. I believe this will be one of the reasons why an overwhelming majority of Sikhs in Bhowanipore will vote against the BJP,” said a community leader.

When the farmers’ movement was at its peak in 2020-21, especially on the outskirts of Delhi, a number of rallies supporting the farmers were taken out in Calcutta.

A large section of those who walked in these rallies in Calcutta were from Bhowanipore.

“When she (Mamata Banerjee) was the railway minister, she started two superfast trains between Kolkata station and Amritsar. This was a demand of the community,” said Narinder Singh, who runs a transport business.

“As chief minister, she ran 20 buses between Calcutta and Patna Sahib during the 350th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Govind Singh-ji (seven years ago).”

An under-construction gate, an initiative of the state government, on Sambhunath Pandit Street marking the presence of the Sant Kutiya Gurdwara on Harish Mukherjee Road also appears to have touched the community.

According to a rough estimate, there are about 4,500 Sikhs living in Bhowanipore.

The election results in Bhowanipore have not been linear, at least in the past few years. Four wards of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) — 70, 71, 72 and 73 — are known for their cosmopolitan nature where people from multiple communities and ethnicities live.

In the 2019 parliamentary elections, Trinamool had trailed the BJP in all four wards. During the Assembly polls in 2021, when Trinamool’s Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay won the Bhowanipore seat, the party won two wards and lost two.

During the Assembly bypolls the same year, when Chattopadhyay resigned to make way for Mamata Banerjee, Trinamool won all the four wards.

Mamata’s outreach to the Gujarati community and her prompt action following two tragedies that stuck two Gujarati families appeared to have had an impact on a section of the community.

In June 2022, businessman Ashok Shah and his wife Rashmita were found murdered in their flat on Harish Mukherjee Road. Mamata had visited the family.

Many spoke of her compassion in this part of Calcutta.

“She has been by our side during distress. It is human nature that we remember people who stand by us during our bad times,” said a community member.

In 2024, businessman Bhavya Lakhani was murdered allegedly by an associate who had called him home to repay some of his debt. Lakhani’s body was found in a chamber under the water tank on the terrace of the associate’s house.

The chief minister called on the Lakhani family, too. In both places, she took the city’s police commissioner with her.

Many in the community said the presence of the police commissioner sent a message that the police would act swiftly and ensure justice for the families.

But Modi still is the “favourite” to many here. A Gujarati-speaking Calcuttan said: “He is a strong leader. Despite local outreach by Trinamool, people will vote thinking that this vote is to form the government at the Centre.”

Another community member said “it is natural that being Gujaratis we will have a fondness for Modi”.