BJP giant killer faces wounded CPM8217;s onslaught

In the 1998 election Sikdar had scored a sensational victory over Nirmal Kanti Chatterjee of the CPIM at Dum Dum, an industrial township considered to be a red bastion. While the CPIM candidate got 4,93,978 votes, Sikdar received 6,31,383votes. And the Congress candidate, Pradyot Guha, came a poor third, picking up 1,11,878 votes. Interestingly, while the BJP had received only a poor 8.94 per cent of the votes in 1996, the tally increased to a staggering 50.694 per cent just two years later.

This stunning upset still haunts the CPIM leadership. There were reports of sabotage by party bigwigs and state minister for transport, dissident leader and Dum Dum satrap Subhas Chakrabarti was the main suspect. He, of course, denies all allegations of anti-party activities and has been going around saying that Dum Dum was a case of immense shame and this time he would wrest it back from the BJP. Other leaders, too 8212; starting from Jyoti Basu to Minister for Home Police Buddhadev Bhattacharya 8212; have been saying they would not let Dum Dum slip out of their hands.

The challenge is formidable. Sikdar knows it but denies that his victory last time was due to well-wishers in the ruling CPIM. 8220;The people are fed up with the misrule of the LeftFront. Dum Dum had so many factories and manufacturing units before the Left Front government came to power but today most of them are closed. A giant like the Jessop company is in death throes. People wanted a change last time and this time too I am going to win,8221; he says.

Nods Mrinal Kanti Das, Sikdar8217;s chief election agent, sitting at the BJP8217;s central election office at Nager Bazaar, in Sikdar8217;s constituency. The mobile-toting, bulky Das has all the details of Sikdar8217;s tour plan and accompanies central leaders on there tours in the state. Apart from Das, there are six others 8212; prominent among them Prabhakar Tiwary, Kaushik Maitra and Ram Chandra Jaiswal 8212; who are in charge of different Assembly segments and various cells.

8220;We will win again,8221; says Maitra. 8220;And why not? Look at the kind of development that took place in Dum Dum during the past 13 months. Among other things 145 schools have been developed, 38 roads built and 113 tubewells dug,8221; he claims.

Members of the Trinamool Congress arealso in the field campaigning for the BJP candidate. Says Subir Banerjee, a young, enthusiastic Trinamool leader: 8220;We had a meeting with Tapanda and we have assured him of all help. To strengthen the hands of Didi Mamata Banerjee, we will have to see to it that Tapanda wins.8221;

8220;It won8217;t be very easy this time,8221; says Shubhankar Das, sipping tea from an earthen pot at Baranagar. Sikdar is now out campaigning atop a van that leads a convoy of 18 cars. The area is very old and once the constituency of Jyoti Basu. 8220;Look, those CPIM members who worked and voted for him last time have understood their folly and the leaders too have made it a prestige issue,8221; says Das. 8220;If Tapanda can field polling agents in all the booths, he will definitely win this time too,8221; whispers a youth in my ears.

Meanwhile, the convoy of Sikdar moves on. Men, women and children come out and stare at the convoy. Dakho, dakho koto gaadi, Oh, they have so many cars exclaims one housewife. The number of cars is the onlytalking point. 8220;I will not vote for anybody. They are all the same,8221; says Sarbani Das, a housewife. No one is indicating which way they will vote or whether they will vote at all or not. Whatever the outcome, it8217;s certainly going to create a stir.