In Bengal’s Congress stronghold, BJP’s ‘Nirbhaya Didi’ creates ripples: Who is Sreerupa Mitra-Chaudhary?

The National Commission for Women (NCW) on Wednesday wrote a letter to the state DGP seeking an action taken report on the alleged derogatory remarks of the TMC MP and party No 2 against the BJP candidate, who is better known as “Nirbhaya Didi (fearless Didi) ”.

Mitra-Chaudhary, the sitting BJP MLA from the English Bazar Assembly segment in Malda, is contesting against the Congress’s Isha Khan Choudhury and the TMC’s Shahnawaz Ali Raihan. The Congress candidate is the son of sitting MP Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury who has won the seat since 2009. Known popularly as Dalu da, he is the brother of former Union Minister and Congress stalwart A B A Ghani Khan Choudhury. The TMC candidate is an Oxford scholar who was a prominent voice against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

Chaudhary is a former journalist, social worker and women’s rights activist. In 2004, she took part in the launch of the National Legal Literacy Mission. In 2008, she served as national advisor of the National Legal Services Authority under the Ministry of Law and Justice.

After the 2012 Delhi gang rape, she chaired the special task force on rape, trafficking and violence against women set up by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. That’s how she got the “Nirbhaya Didi” moniker. In December 2013, she resigned from the post amid speculation that she could contest the election from Malda as a TMC candidate. However, she was named TMC candidate from the South Delhi Lok Sabha seat, where she polled only 803 votes.

“I had started the ‘Nirbhaya gram (fearless village)’ initiative, which was a social movement to protect the dignity of women. The initiative was well received, and people gave me the ‘Nirbhaya Didi’ name. Today, more people know me as Nirbhaya Didi than by my real name,” said Chaudhary.

Two years later, Chaudhary joined the BJP. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, she lost from Maldaha Dakshin by over 8,000 votes. Then, in the 2021 state polls, she won from English Bazar that is part of the Lok Sabha seat.

The constituency has been filled with pink hoardings and placards in a unique campaign. While some have photographs of PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah alongside Chaudhary’s image, others have the images of PM Modi and her. All the pink placards have “Vote for Nirbhaya Di” written on them. The pink banners also adorn her vehicles.

“We have selected pink as our theme, as it signifies the power of women. We have made pink pamphlets, posters, banners, hoardings and placards. ‘Vote for Nibhaya Di’ means voting for safety, security and protection of women,” said the BJP candidate.

Although the constituency is known as a Congress stronghold, the BJP candidate’s campaign has caught the attention of people. “Her campaigning style has caught the eye of the people who are relating to her brand of politics. Her previous experience of fighting for women’s rights has given her an edge over her rivals, so it is going to be a tough contest this time,” said a TMC leader from Malda on condition of anonymity.

The BJP leadership has backed her with a roadshow by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Malda town on April 23, followed by a public meeting by PM Modi earlier on Friday. Maldaha Dakshin goes to the polls in the third phase on May 7.