At Joynagar,SUCI banks on a doctor

Sitting at the Medical Service Centre,an association of voluntary organisations of doctors and nurses of which he is a part,he tells his experiences as a volunteer for relief camps for natural disasters from Bhopal gas tragedy to Bhuj quake and tsunami. He may have served as the Chief Medical Officer in Kolkata and Nasik,but he cherished his work in health clinics of Sunderbans as it made him familiar with the place,from where he is contesting.

Joynagar has traditionally been a Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) stronghold with Sanat Kumar Mandal winning the seat for the last 24 years. This time,however,the doctor is pitted against Nemai Barman. “People are annoyed because Sanat Mandal is not given a ticket even though he was a strong candidate,” said Mandal. RSP is traditionally a strong ally of the Left Front and Joynagar was always considered to be a safe seat,especially since two of the six Assembly constituencies have RSP MLAs and two others are CPM.

Mandal,however,believes that people have become conscious about the political developments,especially after Singur and Nandigram. “The Left Front government has always had a very strong base among the farmers and villagers yet it performed poorly in the panchayat polls. This proves that grassroots people have lost their faith in the government,” said Mandal.

He claimed that he would not offer any particular manifesto. “I will not make promises like getting rid of unemployment or providing water and electricity. The government has been promising so many things but failed to meet its basic promise of establishing healthcare system,” he added.

Fighting for the medical rights of people is close to Mandal’s heart,as he is opposed to public-private partnership in medical profession.