Journalism of Courage
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Mamata Banerjee both voted on Wednesday. He did not flash the victory sign. She did.
The Chief Minister,his wife Mira Bhattacharjee and daughter Suchetana voted at Pathabhavan,a school in Kolkata. They arrived at 12.50 pm and waited in queue for about 10 minutes at booth number 108. Bhattacharjee looked grim when he came out and left immediately,almost hurriedly,trying to avoid comment. He did express confidence,however,that he would emerge victorious in the constituency he is contesting,Jadavpur in South 24-Parganas.
His arrival sparked some mild interest. A few people stayed back after voting,waiting for a glimpse of the Chief Minister when he came out of the booth.
Mamata,in contrast,was greeted by hundreds who lined the entire stretch of Harish Mukherjee Road leading to the polling station in Mitra Institution School. Terraces of buildings too were crowded,with some watchers clicking away on their mobile cameras,others satisfying themselves by waving at her.
It is the last time she is voting before becoming the Chief Minister. I want to witness that, said Malati Saha,80,struggling to stand upright in the crowd. Saha waited for hours for the glimpse and Mamata did not let her down,turning up at 4.45 pm.
Subrata Bakshi,the Trinamool Congress candidate for Bhawanipore where the booth is located,was with Mamata when she went in to vote. When she came out,she waved at the crowd who followed her as she walked to her parked car. The victory sign,which came just before she drove off,was accompanied by a huge smile.
