Thaindian News

Kolkata, Sep 11 (IANS) Trinamool Congress leaders took out rallies and went door-to-door Sunday kicking off party supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s maiden campaign for the state assembly from South Kolkata’s Bhowanipore in a bypoll Sep 25.

Minister for Urban Development Firhad Hakim, Minister for Sports Madan Mitra and party chief whip in the assembly Sovandeb Chattopadhyay led the Trinamool workers who took part in the campaign.

Trinamool workers, who took part in the rallies, also distributed voter slips in the lanes and bylanes of the constituency, which forms a part of South Kolkata Lok Sabha seat, won by Banerjee in the 2009 general elections.

The rally led by Mitra and Chattopadhayay was a silent one, but adorned with posters, urging people to vote for the party supremo.

Banerjee has already directed her party leaders not to use graffiti or create noise pollution while wooing the voters.

“The people are high on enthusiasm. Event those voters who are not traditional supporters of the Trinamool were very eager to vote for didi (elder sister - as Banerjee is affectionately called),” said Hakim.

State PWD Minister and party state president Subrata Buxi had won from the constituency in the assembly polls held earlier this year, but quit the seat to pave the way for Banerjee’s election as an assembly member.

The opposition Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) has fielded a political greenhorn, Nandini Muherjee, who is a computer science professor. She also has already started knocking on the doors of the voters.

The area, housing Banerjee’s residence Kalighat, is considered her pocket borough, and she took a massive 40,000 lead from the assembly segment in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. Buxi had won by a whopping 49,963 margin over CPI-M candidate Narayan Jain. Ironically, Jain has decided to campaign for the chief minister, leaving the CPI-M red-faced.