Mahua Moitra confident of victory by 'over 1L votes', 'puzzled' Ranima fights it out beyond poll hours
Times of India | 14 May 2024
KRISHNANAGAR: Mahua Moitra personified confidence as she started off her day from the first hour of polling, breezing from one polling booth to another across the Krishnanagar Lok Sabha constituency. All through, she maintained her prediction-a victory by over 1-lakh margin and a certain return to the Parliament.
The Trinamool candidate's BJP rival 62-year-old Amrita Roy, or 'Ranima', slogged even past the polling hours, scurrying from one booth to another attending to complaints.She staged sit-in protests outside three police stations in three corners of the vast constituency. "Politics is not my cup of tea," Roy sighed.
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Moitra's confidence apparently "puzzled" Roy. "I am extremely puzzled. How can Moitra claim she is winning by 1 lakh votes if she didn't rig polls?" said Roy, a descendant of Raja Krishna Chandra Roy. The fiery homemaker-turned-poll debutant, who claimed to be on the "learning curve", left the Krishnanagar palace at 8.45pm and stayed within town for the first two hours before switching gear to visit faraway villages. Following a complaint of cops beating up a BJP worker, Roy barged into the Krishnagar PS. Then, she travelled 40 km to Chapra to stand by two BJP workers, assaulted by alleged TMC men, and staged a sit-in at the Chapra PS. She then drove 50 km to Palashipara and Nakashipara, where she camped outside the Nakashipara PS well after polling ended, demanding cop protection for voters. "Politics is a dirty game but I am here to stay," Roy said.