Rajarhat New Town, unlike the adjoining Bidhannagar constituency, was not expected to be tightly contested. Tapash Chatterjee, the Trinamul Congress candidate, forged ahead from the first round itself with a lead of 4,308 votes over his nearest rival, Bhaskar Roy of the BJP, and never looked back.
Around 3.15pm, when the ninth round result was being announced, the margin had stretched to 34,257. In the counting booths in Bidhannagar College, the result was a foregone conclusion. “Khela hobe?” a Trinamul agent asked his BJP counterpart at the table during a break, rubbing it further in by adding “Didi o Didi,” in the same mocking tone that the Prime Minister had used in his rallies to taunt the chief minister.
The interest of the agents in the counting hall had shifted to Nandigram. This was the period when the Election Commission server had reportedly malfunctioned and no news was coming in of the battle royale. A gust was blowing outside, with promise of a shower. “Brishti hole Didi jete,” said one, as his party colleagues enthusiastically nodded in agreement.
As a man walks in, others quiz him for the latest report from the adjoining building where counting was in progress for the Bidhannagar constituency. “Aat round hoyechhe, 7,191 lead,” the new entrant responded, with advice not to rejoice yet. “E toh ar Didi noy je make-up hobe,” the enquirer quipped, referring to Bidhannagar’s BJP candidate Sabyasachi Dutta who was trailing. “Nandigram ta jodi thik hoye jay…” he looked away, his voice drifting. Others nodded in silence.
Wall graffiti in Duttabad on the EM Bypass shows the BJP’s star campaigner Amit Shah falling short of the crease as Mamata Banerjee takes the bails off to run him out. The cartoon highlights Mamata’s challenge, Khela hobe
Soon word reached that Mamata was down by only six votes and then at one point that she had won. Some Trinamul agents broke into cries of Jai Bangla, little knowing that their joy would be short-lived.
The 10th round count was announced. Chatterjee had extended his lead to 38,263 votes. Downstairs pacing while speaking on the cellphone, Bhaskar Roy, the BJP candidate, cut a forlorn figure. “Even a few months ago, he was with us,” said a Trinamul agent from Rajarhat on spotting him from the fifth floor window.
Chatterjee soon entered the counting hall to take stock of the trend. “This vote is against communalism and Narendra Modi. We are taking the challenge for 2024. I have told everyone to give me cash instead of flowers so I can create a fund and start the projects I have promised before the election,” he told The Telegraph Salt Lake. His final margin turned out to be 56,432 votes.
