Kalita Maji, the newly elected MLA from West Bengal’s Ausgram, must get used to a different schedule. The 38-year-old, who worked as a domestic help before the polls, is set to start work as an elected public representative.
“Now it is time to serve the people, all the people (in my constituency). So I will not be able to continue serving the few homes where I worked as a help. But they are close to me, and I will stay in touch with them. But now there is greater responsibility on my shoulders. I have to bring development to my constituency,” Maji told The Indian Express over the phone.
“I belong to a poor family. So I know the pain of the poor and their needs. People have blessed me, and I will work for them,” she said.
Platipal Patra lives in the Guskara municipality of Purba Bardhaman district and is among Maji’s former employers. “We are happy and proud of her. She worked at my home for nearly a decade. We have big expectations of her. Obviously, she is an MLA and won’t come to our house daily. We will miss her. But I think she will work for the people,” Patra said.
Chandrachur Patra is a relative of Platipal and a local resident. “We all know her and love her. In 2021, she contested as a BJP candidate and lost. But this time she has won. Since 2010, she has been working as a house help, cooking and washing utensils. Everyone loves her. Now she is our MLA, and we have high hopes. She is from an underprivileged background and will understand the needs of the poor.”
Maji’s husband, Subrata, is a plumber and the couple has a son, who recently appeared for Class 12 exams. According to her election affidavit, Maji listed movable assets worth Rs 1,61,216. Immovable assets include the family’s asbestos-roofed home worth Rs 3,00,000.
Maji took the oath as an MLA at the Bengal Assembly yesterday. “This is new to me. But I will learn quickly. I am grateful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji and my party for this opportunity. I will work under the leadership of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.”
Earlier, Maji had taken a month off from work to campaign for the election. At the time, she did not know whether she would be disappointed like the last time.
In the 2021 Assembly polls, Trinamool Congress candidate Abedanand Thandar defeated Maji in the reserved constituency by nearly 12,000 votes. A heartbroken Maji went back to work as a house help.
This time, victory did not elude her. Maji defeated Trinamool’s Shyama Prasanna Lohar by 12,535 votes.
Following her victory, Maji had said she was grateful that the Prime Minister put faith in her again and was delighted that she lived up to it.
“My main focus will be to help and work for the development of the backward classes. Then there is work to ensure that proper roads are built and the drinking water supply reaches everyone’s home. I will also work for the youth and the safety and security of women,” she had said.
Another focus, Maji said, is building a hospital to help the people in her village who have to travel to Burdwan town for treatment.