Pulak Sarkar, a gram panchayat candidate of CPM Malda, is trying to strike a balance between his politics and profession.

Sarkar, contesting from booth number 222 of Bulbulchandi panchayat in Habibpur, is also a proficient painter. He draws graffiti on the walls even for his opponents to earn a living.

The CPM candidate, who is in his early forties, however, does not find anything odd in his act.

Since he was a student, he was inspired by the Left’s ideology, he said. In his college days, he joined SFI (CPM’s students’ wing) and later became a party worker.

“The party gave me a ticket this time and I was wondering how to arrange money needed to bear even the basic expenses to contest the polls. That is why I decided to continue my work of painting graffiti of all the candidates contesting from my area. It is honest work and I find nothing unusual in it,” he said.

The CPM candidate got orders for making graffiti from Trinamul and other political parties.

“Profession and politics are two different things. I am painting graffiti for my rival candidates as well as for myself. However, when it comes to the polls, I will not give an inch to my rivals. I am getting a good response from people in the area and believe I will win this seat,” he said.

Bibek Singha, the Trinamul candidate contesting against Sarkar, acknowledged that he hired Sarkar to paint his graffiti.

“He is contesting against me. But as we requested him to make graffiti for us and offered him his fees, he agreed. This is how he makes a living. But when it comes to the election, there is a serious political battle here,” said Singha.

Sarkar, who lives with his mother, wife, and two daughters, makes around Rs 15,000 a month through his painting jobs.

The district CPM leadership, however, is apprehensive that their candidate’s decision might affect the results.

“Painting is his profession and we have no problem with it. However, it is not desirable that he is painting graffiti of other parties when he is in the fray. It might send a wrong message to some voters,” said Ambar Mitra, the district CPM secretary of Malda.

Senior Trinamul leaders, however, held a different view.

“Our candidate and party workers will definitely put in efforts to defeat Sarkar. But we respect what he is doing as a part of his profession and there is nothing unethical in it. We also want to defeat him so that he can devote more time to his profession instead of spending it on a political party that has lost its relevance in Bengal,” said Abdur Rahim Boxi, the district Trinamul president.