Amid ‘Joy Bangla’ chants, Mamata supporters say: ‘Didi sobaar kaaj kore; Hindu, Musalman dekhe na’

Days after chants of “Jai Shri Ram” stuffed the air round Hooghly’s Dunlop Ground throughout Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally for BJP, it was the flip of “Joy Bangla” chants that reverberated throughout Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s rally right here on Wednesday.
BJP’s saffron flags had been changed with Trinamool’s tricolour flags and the bottom buzzed with catchy slogans and songs with beats of conventional musical devices like maadol, khonjoni, dhaak and dhol. As an enthusiastic crowd indulged in clicking selfies, the political rally seemed extra of a celebration.
“Ami Didi ke dekhbo bole, aar onar kotha shunbo bole eshechhi (I have come here to see and listen to Didi),” mentioned 45-year-old Jadabi Ghosh, an anganwadi employee, referring to Mamata Banerjee. A resident of Hooghly’s Bora space, Ghosh mentioned that she and her members of the family had been beneficiaries of the state authorities’s schemes equivalent to widow and old-age pensions.

“Didi sobar jonno kaaj kore, Hindu, Musalman dekhe na (Didi works for everyone, doesn’t discriminate between Hindus and Muslims),” she mentioned as “Ebar Didir Hattrick”– a catchy observe – performed within the background.
Like Ghosh, 59-year-old Anjan Gupta of Hooghly’s Jirat had come to see Didi. “Earlier, I was a Congress supporter. Later, I switched to TMC when Didi formed the party and have been rooting for her since then.”

Haribilas Bag, a 70-year-old farmer, had come to attend the rally from Singur. Over a decade in the past, Mamata’s agitation towards Tata Motors’ Nano automobile manufacturing facility in Singur had led to her political rise and eventually the chief ministership.
Bag mentioned that his brother was a beneficiary of Krishak Bandhu, a farmers’ scheme launched by the TMC authorities. “I have also applied for the scheme after seeing my brother getting Rs 1,000,” he mentioned.
A bunch of younger boys from Bandel had additionally come to the rally. As they clicked selfies, one in every of them – 17-year-old Anirban Bhattacharya, a pupil of Class 12 pupil – mentioned: “I am not into politics much. I have come here just to see our chief minister.”Anirban flashed his cellphone, which he mentioned, he had purchased from Rs 10,000 that he had obtained from the state authorities to purchase a smartphone for on-line courses within the wake of the Covid pandemic.
The crowd chanted a number of catchy slogans equivalent to “Jene Gechhe Jonota, Abar Aschhe Mamata (People know that Mamata will win again)” and “Awaaz Uthechhe Bonge, Aamra Didir Songe (a chorus in Bengal, we are with Didi)”.
The slogans complemented the beats of “dhol”. As 26-year-old Arman Ansari performed “dhol”, his pals danced. Rajkumar Das and Anil Das, each conventional “dhaakis”, had been employed by the celebration to play dhaaks on the rally. There had been additionally conventional folks dancers, presenting a slice of tribal tradition. Draped in vibrant colored sarees, with flower-bearing brass pots on their head, they danced to the tune of maadol and khonjoni.
“We are putting our best foot forward in support of Didi,” mentioned Muni Soren, a folks dancer from Hooghly’s Mogra, who was main one of many teams.

As individuals educated their telephone digital camera lens on the folks dancers, 4 males strolling on stilts grabbed their consideration. Several teams of males surrounded them to click on selfies.
Suddenly, with the sound of the CM’s helicopter being audible, their focus shifted to the air after which to the stage.With “Khela hobe” and “Joy Bangla” slogans, Mamata struck a chord with the viewers.
As the CM hit out on the BJP, 28-year-old Ruma Adhikari mentioned, “Amra aabar Didi ke chai (We again want Didi to come to power).” The Mogra resident echoed Mamata: “The prices of gas cylinders and petrol are reaching sky-high. BJP is a party for the rich, not for the poor like us.”
According to Ajay Das, 42, a resident of Rishra, Mamata is the perfect CM candidate. “Where will you get rice and egg curry for Rs 5?” he mentioned when requested why he need TMC to win once more.
Echoing him, Mohd Sarfaraz Hussain, who offers tuition courses in Bandel, mentioned Mamata Banerjee has “worked for the masses”. “My students have benefited from Kanyashree and Sabooj Sathi schemes of the Mamata government through which they got money and bicycles…The BJP tries to woo voters on communal lines. But it cannot boost development,” he mentioned.

As hundreds of individuals gathering on the venue, embellished with flags and balloons, residents had been overwhelmed. “We have never seen such a big rally before. Now, I have seen both the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister in one week. It’s overwhelming to see such elaborate arrangements with so much police security,” mentioned Sunita Khuswaha, 32, whose home is simply 200 metres away from the venue.