SAFFRON ON RED
THE WEEK|April 25, 2021
Can left veteran Ashok Bhattacharya overcome the BJP’s surge in Siliguri?
RABI BANERJEE
SAFFRON ON RED

He was once called the king of Siliguri. But veteran communist leader Ashok Bhattacharya’s influence in the north Bengal city seems to be waning. This was evident in the thin crowd of supporters around him as he went about seeking votes for the seventh consecutive time. The sitting MLA has won all but one (2011) election from Siliguri since 1991.

Once a heavyweight minister in the Jyoti Basu and Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee governments, Bhattacharya was seen as a development man who brought together the varied sections of the Siliguri population. The city is close to Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Tibet, and is seen as an important strategic point for India.

Wearing a plain shirt and crumpled trousers, Bhattacharya extended his hands to voters while campaigning. “Vote for our future. Do not vote emotionally,” he told them. The people smiled, but did not commit. The violence in the state has marred the flavour of the elections this time.

Bhattacharya, who has previously survived challenges from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress, is now on a sticky wicket because of the recent saffron surge. His confidant Sankar Ghosh has joined the BJP. An internal study by the BJP had found that it was Bhattacharya and not Mamata, who was its main challenge in Siliguri. And so, a coup was apparently arranged. Ghosh and several others switched to the BJP. He will now take on Bhattacharya.

Asked about this, an unflustered Bhattacharya said, “I am not at all worried about who has left me. I have groomed many others. If they desert me, it is their own problem. Mind my words, I will win this seat again.”

Bhattacharya is also known as the bridge between the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the influential people in the state, including superstar actors and sports legends.

This story is from the April 25, 2021 edition of THE WEEK.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the April 25, 2021 edition of THE WEEK.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM THE WEEKView All
Divides And Dividends
THE WEEK India

Divides And Dividends

Contrasting narratives on the scrapping of Article 370 define the elections in Jammu and Kashmir

time-read
4 mins  |
May 19, 2024
Playing it cool
THE WEEK India

Playing it cool

Everybody knows what 420 means in the Indian context. But in American parlance it is something very different: four-twenty or 4/20 or April 20 denotes cannabis celebration; its cultural references are rooted in the hippie culture of the 1960s and 1970s.

time-read
2 mins  |
May 19, 2024
The heroine's new clothes
THE WEEK India

The heroine's new clothes

Who else but Sanjay Leela Bhansali could bring on a wardrobe reset like the one in his just-dropped period piece—an eight-part Netflix series called Heeramandi?

time-read
2 mins  |
May 19, 2024
AI & I
THE WEEK India

AI & I

Through her book Code Dependent—shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction—Madhumita Murgia gives voice to the voiceless multitudes impacted by artificial intelligence

time-read
4 mins  |
May 19, 2024
Untold tales from war
THE WEEK India

Untold tales from war

Camouflaged is a collection of 10 deeply researched stories, ranging from the world wars to the 26/11 terror attacks

time-read
2 mins  |
May 19, 2024
Hair force
THE WEEK India

Hair force

Sheetal Mallar, in her photobook Braided, uses hair as a metaphor to tell a story that is personal yet universal

time-read
2 mins  |
May 19, 2024
THE WHITE TIGER GAVE ME CONFIDENCE IN MY ABILITIES
THE WEEK India

THE WHITE TIGER GAVE ME CONFIDENCE IN MY ABILITIES

The first time Adarsh Gourav made an impression was in Ramin Bahrani's 2021 film The White Tiger, a gripping adaptation of Aravind Adiga's Booker-winning novel.

time-read
4 mins  |
May 19, 2024
The art of political protest
THE WEEK India

The art of political protest

The past doesn’t always remain in the past. Sometimes, it emerges in the present, reminding us about the universality and repetitiveness of the human experience. Berlin’s George Grosz Museum, a tiny gem, is a startling reminder that modern political and social ills are not modern. Grosz lived through World Wars I and II, shining a torch into the heart of darkness in high-ranking men and women—who were complicit in the collapse of the world as they knew it.

time-read
2 mins  |
May 19, 2024
REFUELLING DYING SATELLITES
THE WEEK India

REFUELLING DYING SATELLITES

A Chennai company is making waves in the world of space tech startups

time-read
6 mins  |
May 19, 2024
DIVERSITY IN UNITY
THE WEEK India

DIVERSITY IN UNITY

THE SOUTH ASIAN COMMUNITY IN THE US HAS SEVERAL THINGS IN COMMON, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO THE UPCOMING ELECTIONS, THERE ARE WIDELY DIFFERING OPINIONS AND FEELINGS

time-read
5 mins  |
May 19, 2024