“I don’t know the secret (of winning a new seat in every five year). I know only one thing — inspire people and help understand their problems,” he quips while waving to supporters during his roadshow in Asansol’s Kulti area in Paschim Bardhman district Wednesday. Accompanied by BJP workers on motorcycles holding party flags, balloons and cut-outs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he tries to strike a chord with the public in his chaste Bengali.
“Amar naam SS Ahluwalia. Ami Asansol er bhumiputra…Amake BJP Lok Sabha nirbachoner prarthi koreche ekhan theke. Amake ek nombor botam e vote die Modi ji er haat shokto korun ((My name is SS Ahluwalia, I’m the son of Asansol…. The BJP made me a Lok Sabha candidate from Asansol. Cast your vote on number one button on EVM and strengthen Modi ji),” he says.
As people line up on roads, others gather on their terraces to get a glimpse of Ahluwalia, who has served two terms as MP from West Bengal. In 2014, he successfully contested from the Darjeeling on a BJP ticket. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP fielded him from Bardhaman-Durgapur constituency, where he secured his second stint as an MP.
Amid chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram’, Ahluwalia steps down from his open-air Jeep to interact with the people. Born in Asansol, Ahluwalia attended St Joseph School before graduating Bidhan Chandra College, Burdwan University. He went on to pursue a LLB from the Calcutta University.
When asked if his image as a ‘bhumiputra’ will help him in the election, Ahluwalia said, “For the past 34 years, I have travelled and worked elsewhere. This time Modi ji has sent me to my birthplace. I don’t think being son of the soil will give me an advantage. But deep down everyone wants that their last posting is given in their hometown.” After offering prayers at a temple in Sodepur village, he takes a short break from the roadshow and sits on a party worker’s motorcycle.
Hitting out at the ruling TMC, the BJP leader says, “People have seen the misgovernance of the Mamata Banerjee-led government in Bengal. They are thinking of an alternative and BJP is the only alternative,” he says.
The TMC has fielded actor-turned-politician and sitting MP Shatrughan Sinha from the seat. In 2014 general elections, the BJP had won in Asansol by fielding signer-turned-politician Babul Supriyo, who retained the seat in 2019. Two years later, he left the party and resigned as an MP, which necessitated a Lok Sabha bypoll in Asansol. In the 2022 by-election, Sinha contested on a TMC ticket and won.
Talking about Sinha, Ahluwalia doesn’t mince words. “Till few years ago, he was with the BJP and a Union minister. The BJP gave him everything. Now, he is in another party. Now, one cannot see development if he continues to sport colourful glasses. I don’t tell people ‘khamosh’ (silence). In a democracy, one cannot ‘khamosh’ the voice of the people,” says Ahluwalia.
When asked about an estimate of the number of votes that he is likely to get, the BJP leader says he doesn’t believe in numbers. As he resumes his roadshow, Ahluwalia says, “I believe that being elected is more important than the winning margin.”