Candidates make the best of last festival before first phase of election
Times of India | 15 April 2024
Kolkata: Lok Sabha candidates in Bengal chose to campaign while celebrating Poila Baisakh on Sunday morning. Some started their day by offering puja at temples, while others chose to do Poila Boisakh shopping. Some Left and Congress candidates took out rallies without party flags and greeted people on the auspicious day.
Mala Roy, Trinamool’s Kolkata South candidate, started her campaign by offering puja at a local temple.Later in the day she went to Kalighat to offer prayers. “Poila Baisakh is close to everyone’s heart. We have different communities in my constituency. We take part in their festivals too as we are not against those who do not speak Bengali,” she said.
Trinamool’s candidate from Jadavpur, Saayoni Ghosh, on Sunday started her campaigning in the market areas and greeted people with “Shubho Nababarsha” message. She offered prayers at the Kali temple in the Jadavpur market area. “On the first day of the Bengali New Year, I could meet the people I have known for long. There is nothing like greeting them and receiving their blessings,” said Ghosh.
BJP’s Hooghly Lok sabha candidate Locket Chatterjee did her shopping for the Bengali New Year at a market in Hooghly on Saturday night. She walked with the party workers and spoke to traders selling their wares. “Chaitra sale is an emotion. We had our house in Dakshineswar and my parents used to take us to Shyambazar and Hatibagan on shopping,” she said. On Sunday morning, she took a boat from Ranighat to reach Tribenighat. “Boats are also synonymous with the Bengal’s culture. There are so many songs on boats. We did this during the 2019 campaign, too,” she added.
“A new train will start from Dakshin Dinajpur to New Delhi on Monday. This is PM Narendra Modi’s gift on Bengali New Year,” Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said.
CPM’s Tamluk candidate Sayan Banerjee was dressed in red kurta and dhoti when he came out for campaign on Sunday. He was carrying a ‘dhaak’ as he walked through the neighbourhoods. None carried a party flag and none shouted any slogan. Women dressed in saree and carrying placards of greetings for Poila Baisakh walked with him.
Congress’s Kolkata North candidate Pradeep Bhattacharya took out a rally without any party flag. People carrying banners and greeting people on the new year walked with him and sang songs. He took out a rally from College Street to the iconic Star Theatre building.