In pre-poll season, netas use dipping temp for voter outreach
Times of India | 11 January 2026
Kolkata: With a cold spell gripping Kolkata and surroundings, functionaries across party lines have stepped out with blankets, warm clothes and hot meals, turning winter relief into a form of voter outreach ahead of the assembly elections, due in a few months.
From north Kolkata's lanes to the southern neighbourhoods, party workers are organising blanket distribution camps, handing out thermals, plastic sheets and woollens, and serving warm food to those most affected by the temperature drop. Councillors, MLAs, ministers and MPs, are attending these programmes, lending both warmth and political weight to the initiatives.
Last week, a blanket-distribution camp in Kamarhati was attended by MLA Madan Mitra and MP Sougata Roy. A couple of days later, a similar camp in central Kolkata was attended by Chowringhee MLA Nayna Bandopadhyay.
According to political observers, the timing could not have been more significant. With elections approaching and the ongoing SIR exercise, political engagement at grassroots acquired greater significance. The cold provided a timely opportunity for parties to touch base with voters outside formal campaign settings, observers said. "It is important to work among voters," said Tushar Chatterjee, a Trinamool functionary in Kamarhati municipality. "This makes Trinamool stand out: we are with the people whenever there is any problem, be it SIR or the cold."
The BJP, too, held relief camps. Deepak Saraf, a mandal member of BJP in Posta, who organised a blanket distribution event on K K Tagore Street on Thursday, said he was only following the "teachings of the party". "We are distributing blankets to people, irrespective whether they vote for us or not. Our party's motto is ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas'," said Saraf.
Congress workers held a winter relief drive in Ward 45, while Forward Bloc distributed blankets in parts of Topsia.
The drives revealed a link among weather, welfare and the ballot box. At many camps, the packets carried photos of local representatives. "People should know who their leaders are, that they think about them and work for them," said Iftekhar Ahmed, Trinamool ward president of the minority cell in the port area. The political subtext is not lost on beneficiaries. "When I saw the camp, I knew elections were not far away," said a man working at an eatery on College Street, clutching a blanket. "Still, blankets help in this cold."