Greenhorns ready to take Mamata by the horns

Ram Chandra Prasad,a high court advocate,wanted to contest presidential polls,but failed thrice in his attempts. He has now decided to contest from South Kolkata.

“I have two hands and one head and so does Mamata. I don’t see why I should not be able to defeat her,” he says. This 55-year-old lawyer,father of five daughters and two sons,is contesting with the almirah symbol. “There is not one genuine person in politics today. I sincerely want to help people and with that in mind,I approached the Trinamool,the BJP and the SP to give me a ticket. But all of them refused. Isn’t there a place for a genuine and honest person in today’s politics?” Prasad asks,saying his target voters are the Hindi-speaking community and people involved in the legal profession.

“Of all the candidates from this constituency,I am the most educated. Most of the politicians win by money and muscle power. Let’s see if people want to give the common man a chance,” the advocate says.

An NRI businessman living in London for decades is back in the city to fight for Kolkata South. A alumnus of St Paul’s,Darjeeling,who has a masters from Southampton University in the UK,Yusuf Jamal Siddique feels it’s about time people elect new faces with fresh ideas. Siddique is setting up the first biotechnology incubator in West Bengal.

“I try so hard to get investments for my state,but people across the country feel the environment in this state is not conducive. We need to change this image,” he says. A bat as his election symbol,Siddique feels his is probably the only campaign that is free from wall graffiti,roadblocks and big slogans. Siddique has put in place a strong core team with strategists and advisers from all walks of life. “I believe in development and I am targeting the youth. I will campaign outside colleges and universities where I can appeal to the youth,” he says. If he loses,he will not contest again and will go back to his business in London.

For 36-year-old Barnali Mukherjee,the battle is more an ideological one. She stood by Mamata during the Singur agitation. But now,the Presidency College alumnus feels frustrated over Banerjee’s tie-up with the Congress.

Now,she has thrown her hat in the ring in Kolkata South,with the Communist Party of Bharat,an outfit she floated in the run-up to the Singur agitation. The outfit has only 300 members across the state.

In the rest 41 Lok Sabha seats in the state,Mukherjee’s party has vowed to back the Marxists.

100 constituencies
WHERE THE KEY ISSUES Play

Candidates
* JYOTSNA BANERJEE,BJP
* MAMATA BANERJEE,TMC
* PARESH CHANDRA ROY,BSP
* RABIN DEB,CPM