Rally cheers CM Mamata Banerjee as she files Bhabanipur nomination
Telegraph | 9 April 2026
Mamata Banerjee chose to walk from her Harish Chatterjee Street home to Alipore Survey Building to file her nomination as the Trinamool candidate from Bhabanipur on Wednesday.
Hundreds of supporters followed her on foot. They had started gathering at the Hazra crossing from 9.30am.
Balloons, party flags and small placards in praise of Mamata bobbed as the train of people moved. The sloganeering was non-stop.
Onlookers huddled behind barricades along the road to catch a glimpse of Didi.
The walk
Known for her brisk pace, Mamata, who is used to clocking more than 20,000 steps a day, covered the relatively minor distance from her residence to the Survey Building without breaking a sweat. Mamata took only eight minutes to cover the distance.
Calcutta mayor Firhad Hakim, his wife Ismat, also the councillor of Ward 73, and Mamata’s sister-in-law Kajari Banerjee and several Bhabanipur councillors joined the rally.
Mamata, a three-time MLA from Bhabanipur, greeted supporters with folded hands as she made her way.
Mamata came out of her Harish Chatterjee Street residence at 10.45am. She entered the Survey Building at 10.53am.
Sources said film producer Nispal Singh, party leader Bablu Singh, Ismat Hakim and Bhawanipur Education Society College’s governing body member Miraj Shah are the proposers of Mamata’s candidature.
She came out after filing her nomination at 11.15am.
“I live here all year. My work, protests and movements are centred around Bhabanipur. I have been living here since I was a child, and everything started from here,” she said.
Mamata walked back to her home. Around 11.45am, she left her home to campaign in Hooghly’s Serampore, Goghat, Arambagh, Balagarh and Pandua.
The supporters
A festive atmosphere prevailed in the rally that followed Mamata. Party workers welcomed Mamata with conch shells and slogans, such as Bhabanipur-e jitbe ke, Mamata Banerjee abar ke (Who but Mamata Banerjee will win in Bhabanipur) and Bhabanipur bolchhe / Mamata Banerjee jitchhe (Bhabanipur says / Mamata Banerjee will win).
The rally started from Hazra at 10.15am. It waited outside Harish Chatterjee Street for Mamata to come out. Blue-and-white balloons, party flags and supporters dressed in Trinamool colours lent distinct hues to the rally. Many supporters carried placards highlighting her welfare schemes.
Faces in the crowd
The police had erected barricades along Hazra Road, and people climbed on them to catch a glimpse of Mamata.
Yasmin Khan, a resident of Ward 72 in Bhabanipur, said they were confident about Mamata’s win.
“She is the only sitting chief minister who has fought for the people impacted by SIR, even in the Supreme Court of India,” she said.
Rupkatha Sen, a 19-year-old student from Kasba, said the welfare schemes introduced by the Mamata Banerjee government have benefited many. “If this government returns, it will continue to help people like us,” said the first-year psychology student of Asutosh College.
No entry
Hundreds of commuters had to walk long distances on Wednesday morning and afternoon as stretches of Hazra Road, west of the Hazra crossing, and Judges Court Road were closed to traffic.
A man who was headed to Gopalnagar in an app cab had to get down in front of Asutosh College and walk the rest of the distance. “I saw the road barricaded after I reached the Hazra crossing. The app cab took a right turn towards Asutosh College, where I got down,” said the man around 2.30pm.
Residents said that the road has remained closed for several hours each day recently, as candidates from different parties gather at the Survey Building to file their nominations.
The office of South 24 Parganas’ district magistrate is located a stone’s throw away. Many candidates are also going there to file their nominations.