On the impact of the Prime Minister’s rally in Ashoknagar, Barasat on Tuesday…
People of Nadia — Kalyani and Jaguli mostly and some from Bongaon — who were brought in by bus must have benefited. There was zero attendance from Barasat.
On the issues she is raising…
My campaign is totally on development efforts of the chief minister and my MPLAD (MP Local Area Development) projects. I also got funds from other sources. Mamata Banerjee had sanctioned Metro when she was rail minister. Now Metro is coming to Barasat. There was no drinking water supply in Barasat and Madhyamgram. This is an arsenic-prone area and people were dependent on groundwater. I built a treatment plant in Madhyamgram and for 10 years they are getting treated water. Money has been sanctioned for booster pumps and pipelines have been laid. Water will now go to Habra and Ashoknagar in few months. There are other plans for Deganga. For Salt Lake and New Town, a treatment plant has been built in New Town.
I have started an MP scholarship from this year. The amount goes from my salary. The eligibility is for college students getting 80 per cent and above in the semester exams. I am paying their tuition fees. Quite a few medical and university students have got it. I have upgraded Barasat Hospital to a medical college this year with my MPLAD fund of Rs 5 crore. I have promised the same for Bidhannagar Sub-divisional Hospital in my electoral manifesto. I also plan to build an art gallery in Bidhannagar.
On women’s security in Barasat, some years ago and now…
Yes, it was a concern. I have enveloped the area in CCTV cameras. Even in Salt Lake, I have installed CCTV cameras so police can monitor what is happening in Karunamoyee seated in the (Bidhannagar east) thana. I am grateful that the police is so active. Crime has gone down.
On whether Left supporters will vote for the Left Front or for the BJP, like in 2019…
They are more active than in 2019. I can see their people on the road but their numbers are so small and their support is so meagre. Their supporters might even press on NOTA (‘none of the above’ button on the electronic voting machine). People always decide for the winning candidate and for those who are on the road. Where were they when Cyclone Remal hit? Our people did the work. .
On whether Bidhannagar will give her a lead this time after siding with the BJP in 2014 and 2019…
Sujit (Bose, the local MLA) is working very hard to increase the margin. All the communities are with us.
On political rivals Sujit Bose and Sabyasachi Dutta walking side by side in the chief minister’s rally in Salt Lake…
It gives a united picture of the party. The (Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation) chairman (Dutta) was sent to Ranaghat to take care of the election there. He just came back.
On the impact of the new Ram Mandir…
I have not heard a single person saying anything positive on Ram Mandir. Religion is a personal matter. But they (BJP) tried to use it politically. The President was not called, neither at the inauguration of the temple nor the new Parliament building. That has created negativity in voters’ minds.
On the credentials of the rival candidates…
This is an insult to the voters of Barasat Lok Sabha constituency. The Bidhannagar-Madhyamgram-Barasat area has several retired IAS, IPS officers, professors and engineers residing. There are so many universities here. They are being offered a candidate who perhaps did or did not even pass Class VIII (according to the affidavit submitted during the Assembly election in 2021) and passed Higher Secondary within the next two years (according to the current affidavit)! No one understands what “open schooling” (quoting Swapan Majumder’s affidavit) is.