More than a fight between surnames in Siliguri

  His rival is a green horn in electoral politics and works among the marginalised people.
The only thing that is common between them is their surname—Bhattacharya. Meet the CPM’s urban development minister Ashok Bhattacharya and his rival from Trinamool Congress Rudra Narayan Bhattacharya.

Of the 54 seats that are going to the polls in the first phase on April 18 in North Bengal, Siliguri is the hottest one that has drawn the attention of one and all.

The 59-year-old Trinamool nominee, a doctor by profession, resigned as dean of North Bengal Medical College to make his debut in the electoral battle against a political veteran.

With its sprawling shopping malls, multiplexes, business centres and a sports stadium, Siliguri has emerged as a business and trade destination for North-Eastern states, Sikkim, Nepal and Bhutan. Many credit Ashok Bhattacharya for changing the face of this key trade hub even though strong doubts were raised about his handling of the crisis in the Darjeeling Hills on behalf of the party.

It was due to the poor handling that paved the way for the Opposition to wrest control of the civic board. However, with the Trinamool failing to see eye-to-eye with the Congress on the board formation, the CPM minister cleverly intervened to support the Congress mayor. While it helped the CPM to regain some lost ground, the fact that the Congress was running a board with CPM support endangered the Congress prospects and facilitated further rise of the Trinamool.

Narayan Bhattacharya, considered a minnow before the popular minister, is aware about the infighting in the alliance that could damage his prospects. Asked about his strategy to counter a heavyweight candidate, the medical practitioner resorted to his professional expertise. “Heavyweight is not a good symptom; it could lead to various diseases. The only alternative is to lose weight.”

In a sharp contrast, Ashok’s popularity is beyond question. The door of his house has remained open for all for the past 20 years,  though solution to his or her problem was a different proposition.