Mamata Banerjee on Friday left her 30B Harish Chatterjee Street residence in Calcutta at 1.54pm, reached Survey Building at Alipore at 1.58pm and began filing her nomination as the Trinamul Congress candidate for the Bhowanipore Assembly bypoll at 2pm. The timing was meticulously chosen, on the auspicious occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi.

The chief minister was accompanied by trusted lieutenant Firhad Hakim’s wife Ismat Hakim, Tollywood producer Nispal Singh Rane and her election agent for the constituency, Baiswanor Chatterjee. Given the Covid-19 restrictions, the party

forbade a large gathering at the venue, despite which hundreds showed up to cheer her.

Mamata finished filing the nomination papers at 2.15pm, came out of the building (in picture by Pradip Sanyal) at 2.18pm and departed soon after. Through her journey to and from the office where she filed her papers, she greeted people with folded hands, often waving at them.