At the office of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Hill Cart Road in Siliguri, party supporters start trickling in from the morning.
Though the CPI(M) candidate from the constituency and Mayor, Asok Bhattacharya, filed his nomination a few days ago, the party supporters are getting ready for a rally in support of another candidate who is likely to file his nomination later in the day.
“Sankar [Sankar Malakar, Congress MLA and candidate from the Matigara Naxalbari constituency] is calling. They are waiting for us,” Mr. Bhattacharya tells Jibesh Sarakar, secretary of the Darjeeling district committee of the CPI(M).
The Left Font supporters gather at the party office and go in a rally for a few hundred metres, bringing the traffic to a halt, before they are joined by Congress supporters. They then march together to the Sub-divisional Office for the filing of nomination of the Congress candidates.
The bonhomie between the supporters of the Left Front and the Congress on the streets of Siliguri clearly shows that the much-touted “Siliguri model” of uniting the Opposition forces against the Trinamool Congress is working in this key constituency.
Mr. Bhattacharya told The Hindu that the first step was bringing all parties in the Opposition together and ensuring that voters, irrespective of party affiliation, got the confidence to exercise their franchise without fear.
“We did not do any seat-sharing in Siliguri. What we said was ‘Remove Trinamool Congress, Save Siliguri’. Now this is being said all across West Bengal — ‘Remove Trinamool Congress Save Bengal’,” Mr. Bhattacharya said.
He, however, said the success was a result of a sustained movement launched by the Left parties over the past few years on several civic and social issues.
From being in the third position in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections — trailing behind the BJP and the Trinamool Congress — the Left Front, under Mr. Bhattacharya, not only made a turnaround but also successively brought the Congress to his side.
Electoral understandingIt was indeed the success of the united Opposition in the Siliguri Municipal Corporation polls in April 2015 that laid the ground for the Left-Congress electoral understanding for the Assembly elections.
While Mr. Bhattacharya is hopeful that the “Siliguri model” can be successfully implemented across the State, people and politicians in the second largest town of the State feel that it is his charisma that has brought the two parties together.
Subin Bhowmick, a secretary of the State Congress sitting in office not far from Mr. Bhattacharya, said the model would not have been a success but for the veteran CPI(M) leader.
Sports enthusiastThough pitted against Trinamool Congress candidate and football icon Baichung Bhutia, the former Left Front Minister, whenever asked about his opponent, starts a discussion on Mr. Bhutia’s soccer skills. A sports enthusiast himself, Mr. Bhattacharya said the election campaign had made him fitter and happier.
“All the walking for campaigning has kept my weight and blood sugar in check and made me happy because it allows me to be in constant touch with the masses,” the 67-year-old leader said.
