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Journalism of Courage
When Left Front chairman Biman Bose announced 25-year-old Shatarup Ghoshs name as the CPM candidate for Kasba Assembly constituency in South 24-Parganas for the West Bengal assembly polls,it not only surprised many but also the nominee.
Ghosh,who is pursuing MA from Rabindra Bharati University,was not expecting his name to be on the Left Fronts list for the Assembly elections. But as the news sank in,a confident Ghosh said: In our party we are assigned tasks,even if anyone is not chosen as the candidate,they are assigned tasks to reach out to the voters,hold public meetings. This time I have been assigned the task to contest elections.
Ghosh graduated from Asutosh College in 2008 in BSc (Economics) but has been associated with the CPMs youth wing Students Federation of India (SFI) for five years. At present,he is the state committee secretariat member of the outfit and joint secretary of its Kolkata district unit. My active participation in politics started started only after I joined Asutosh College in 2005, said Ghosh who rose to proinence in the last few months.
On December 16,Souvik Hazra,a student of Asutosh college and SFI supporter,lost one eye during a clash between supporters of SFI and Trinamool Congress Chattra Parishad. The CPMs youth wing made it an issue and Ghosh extensively campaigned in the students union polls that followed. The SFI later swept the Asutosh College students union elections by winning 19 of the 20 seats. His leadership during the college polls earned him praises and partys top leadership took note of him.
Though Ghosh comes from an apolitical family his parents work for SAIL his colleagues say he has a very good political insight.
According to Ghosh,students and youths will play a decisive role in this years Assembly elections and it seems he has already made necessary preparations and planning.
Students are with us and it has been proved in the elections in the last two years. Ill try to reach out to the youths and students too, he said and added that CPM votes in Kasba had increased by 10,000 in just one year after the 2009 Parliament elections to the 2010 civic polls.
