Bihari Babu turns Bangali Babu in coal belt, banks on 'spotless' image
Times of India | 11 May 2024
ASANSOL/RANIGANJ: There is a buzz around the hotel at Ushagram on GT Road. As last-minute preparations are on for the roadshow, frequent calls pour in from Raniganj. Bihari Babu-turned-Bangalibabu Shatrughan Sinha is set to attend a roadshow at Raniganj Punjabi More and local leaders say the swelling crowd is getting impatient after a spell of unexpected rain confined the actor to his hotel room.Actor Dev had to cancel a road show due to the weather, there is no way Sinha can disappoint them, they insist.
In his suite, Sinha - dressed in his trademark sleeveless jacket and shoes - waits for his wife Poonam Sinha to join him. Ask him why he has checked in to his "lucky" suite yet again (he had won in 2022 while staying in this suite) and pat comes the reply: "My room has not changed, I have not changed too (after becoming a TMC MP)."
The actor says he has made Asansol his home, just like the ones in Patna and Mumbai. "Name a festival - Durga Puja, Ram Navami, Eid or Christmas - I have celebrated here with my family," he said.
According to him, his USP in the colliery belt between Pandabeswar and Jamuria has been his "spotless image".
"I had overturned a 2 lakh deficit in 2022. That time, my opposition had nothing better than calling me an outsider. Today, I remain a spotless man. Despite being a central minister for years, my transparency and spotless image are now my USP. There are no allegations against me," he says. Sinha adds that he has been the only MP who has published a report card that details his spendings under the MPLAD scheme.
Half an hour later, as he tries to come out of his car, he is literally mobbed by the selfie hunters. "I respect Ahluwalia-ji (BJP contestant). However, after competing from Darjeeling, he ran away and came to Burdwan-Durgapur, where he scraped through in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. He has been sent to Asansol at the last moment, that too against someone who has no corruption allegations. But Ahluwalia has to first answer why he has been shifting seats for the last 10 years. If the BJP has dhan shakti (money power), then iron lady Mamata Banerjee has jan shakti (people's power)," he thunders amidst applause.
At the colliery belt at Ukhra in Andal or at Burnpur, Sinha's trademark campaigning has been to step out partially from his SUV and clinging by the door. He waves at the voters. On their demand, he even clicks photographs, not losing patience even once. He wishes back several who wishes him with a 'Sree Ram' slogan.
As his convoy touches Nemayatpur, Sitarampur and finally, Kulti, Shotgun Sinha interacts with the locals and utters his famous 'Khamosh' slogan.
Will he win? Sinha says he is asking for votes on behalf of Mamata Banerjee, "She is the most popular leader and role model not just in Bengal but the entire country. I enjoy the confidence of the people."