Kalita Majhi is back on the campaigning trail after five years. Active in politics for more than a decade, Majhi, a house help, has been fielded by the BJP again from Aushgram Assembly seat in West Bengal’s Purba Bardhaman district for the Assembly election this year.
Majhi works as a house help in two houses and earns Rs 4,000 a month. She has taken a month off from work to focus on election campaigning.
“I never imagined that I would get this opportunity again. The party has shown faith in me, and this is a very big responsibility. Right now, my focus is on the campaign. My employers have told me to go and campaign and emerge victorious this time,” Majhi told The Indian Express over the phone while campaigning.
In the last Assembly polls, she lost to TMC’s Abedanand Thandar by less than 12,000 votes. She had polled 88,577 votes to Thandar’s 1,00,392 tally.
The party hopes Majhi’s socio-economic background will help people identify with her.
“My family and neighbours are hopeful that I will usher in development if I win. There are a lot of issues here: roads, drinking water, a proper roof over our heads, work… Once we come into power, I would like to introduce central government schemes here. There has been no development here, and the residents are deprived of central government schemes,” she said.
She believes that being a house help has made her understand the basic issues of the common man and the sufferings of the poor families in the constituency. Majhi said her main focus was on building a hospital to help people in her village who travel all the way to Bardhaman town to access medical facilities. Other issues like infrastructure development and employment opportunities are on the list as well.
People still have no electricity in many villages, and Majhi plans to install solar panels there. “Each of us has the right to a secure roof over our head. I will introduce the PM’s housing scheme and build homes and toilets,” she said.
For Majhi, women’s safety is also very important. “See what happened to our doctor sister in RG Kar…. Not a single woman is safe in the state ruled by a woman CM. There is a complete collapse of law and order, so we must ensure women’s safety and make sure the culprits get punished,” she said.
Majhi, a resident of Majhpukur Pari, lives with her husband Subrata Majhi, a plumber. The couple has a son, who has appeared for the Class 12 exams this year. “The education system has been hit by corruption. The condition of government schools is bad. I will focus on schools also, as they shape the future generations. I will also look into the issues of farmers,” she added.