바카라I am among very few Indian singers who have performed in Pakistan. I went to Lahore in 2004 to perform and stayed in the same hotel where the touring Indian cricket team was,바카라 singer-turned-politician Babul Supriyo told journalists in Kolkata last week after attending an Iftaar party.
This was quite a contrasting approach from him with regard to Pakistan. In February 2018, then a junior minister in the first Narendra Modi government at the Centre, Supriyo demanded that artists of Pakistan nationality, such as Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Atif Aslam, be banned in Bollywood movies because of their silence against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in India바카라s Jammu and Kashmir regions.
The volte-face, however, does not intrigue political pundits or the commoners in West Bengal, as the singer had switched parties last year 바카라 from Modi-ji바카라s team to Didi바카라s team 바카라 to 바카라stay in the playing eleven.바카라 He was dropped from the second Modi government. As he resigned from Asansol Lok Sabha in southwestern Bengal, which he had won in 2014 and 2019 on a BJP ticket, Mamata Banerjee바카라s Trinamool Congress (TMC) has fielded him from a bypoll in Kolkata바카라s Ballygunge assembly constituency. The election is on April 12.
Ideally, West Bengal바카라s ruling party should have had nothing to worry about winning Ballygunge 바카라 party veteran Subrata Mukherjee, whose death necessitated the bypoll, won it in the 2021 assembly general elections with a massive margin of 75,359 votes, bagging 70.6% of the polled votes.
And here comes what prompted Supriyo바카라s change of stance over Pakistan: Ballygunge has Muslims making up nearly half its electorate and Mukherjee바카라s 2021 winning margin was attributed to a near-complete polarisation of Muslim votes in favour of the TMC, but now Supriyo바카라s very candidature has got the local Muslim community divided due to his role during the 2018 Asansol riots.
Facing a sustained campaign on social media calling upon Ballygunge바카라s electorate to vote against 바카라communal바카라 Babul and also a whispering campaign on the ground, Supriyo last week tried to explain his side of the story.
바카라Since long time ago, I used to drive myself to Ajmer Sharif seeking blessings before the release of any major movie. There is a video on Facebook of my mother and myself visiting the main mosque in Dubai. As a dedicated worker of a party, I did not oppose what the party바카라s top leader said (when in BJP). But then I used to get to meet only 70% (of the electorate), whereas now I am getting to meet and work for 100%. Shouldn바카라t I be happy about it?바카라 Supriyo told journalists.
바카라I never thought that being part of that party would bring a communal stamp on me. Now I have got a chance for the singer (in me) to remove the communal stamp,바카라 he said. 바카라Had I lacked honesty, I would have told Didi not to field me from Ballygunge.바카라
The confidence that Supriyo tried to display is, however, not visible in the party. Last week, the chief minister바카라s nephew and the TMC all-India general secretary Abhishek Banerjee told an election rally, 바카라The name of the candidate is Mamata Banerjee, not Babul Supriyo. Voting for the twin flower symbol means voting for Mamata Banerjee.바카라
He said this even after certifying Supriyo as one who had abandoned the BJP바카라s 바카라politics of communalism바카라.
바카라Some people are saying that voting for Supriyo is akin to voting for BJP. I would like to remind them that he has abandoned the politics of Jay Shree Ram and embraced the politics of Joy Bangla and Jai Hind,바카라 the Banerjee junior said.
He also invoked the memories of the late Mukherjee, who won from the seat three times on the trot, and urged people to vote to get Mukherjee바카라s unfinished task finished. The party has covered the Ballygunge assembly constituency area with banners and hoardings carrying photos of Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek. Supriyo바카라s visual presence has been minimal, as the party decided to focus the campaign on the party symbol and the chief minister바카라s name.
According to psephologist Biswanath Chakraborty, a professor of political science at Rabindra Bharati University in Kolkata, the electoral arithmetic shows no reason why Supriyo should lose, but an erosion in the TMC바카라s base among the Muslims is expected.
바카라Of the about 300 polling booths, the BJP is in no position to field polling agents in about 80 booths and in 20 booths even the Left would not be able to field polling agents. The TMC바카라s leads from these areas should neutralise deficits that they may record elsewhere,바카라 Chakraborty said.
Supriyo바카라s contest is against the Left바카라s Saira Shah Halim and the BJP바카라s Keya Ghosh. Halim is the wife of Fuad Halim, a leftist doctor who enjoys significant respect among the local people for his charitable work but not electoral fortune. The doctor, son of the late CPI(M) stalwart Hashim Abdul Halim, contested from Ballygunge assembly in 2011 and 2021 and from Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha in 2019 but lost every time.
Saira is an educator, rights activist and motivational speaker. She is a niece to actor Naseeruddin Shah, who recently released a video message calling upon Ballygunge바카라s electorate to vote for Saira. She alleged on April 9, the last day for the April 12 election, that the local administration denied permission to as many as seven electoral rallies they had planned.
Notably, the 바카라No Vote to BJP바카라 campaign had played an important role in shaping public opinion ahead of the 2021 assembly elections, with the TMC becoming its principal beneficiary. However, a section of those behind the campaign are now also seeking votes against Supriyo. A number of social activists have also urged people to ensure Supriyo바카라s defeat. Among them, noted mental health activist Ratnaboli Roy바카라s Facebook post calling for votes against Supriyo had gone viral.
바카라Going by public perception, the candidature of Babul Supriyo has weakened the TMC바카라s politics of championing communal harmony because the memories of Supriyo바카라s communal and sexist remarks are still fresh in public memory. The way the local administration tried to foil Halim바카라s campaign events, despite the Left getting only about 5% vote in Ballygunge in 2021, reflects the ruling party바카라s nervousness regarding Ballygunge,바카라 said columnist Udayan Bandyopadhyay, who teaches political science at Bangabasi College in Kolkata.
According to him, the Ballygunge battle has gone beyond being any usual byelection. 바카라A pro-Babul and anti-Babul division among voters is visible. Many are considering him to be a BJP candidate. It remains to be seen if Supriyo manages to draw a section of the BJP바카라s vote share towards himself,바카라 he added.
During the campaign, political activist Prasenjit Bose was among some others who were arrested for taking out a rally with the slogan 바카라No Vote to Babul Supriyo and the BJP.바카라 They later urged people to vote for Halim. 바카라The administration even couldn바카라t allow a peaceful rally. They are resorting to every undemocratic way to manipulate people바카라s mandate because they know the voters are not accepting a communal person as the candidate,바카라 Bose said.
A bypoll in Asansol Lok Sabha will also take place on the same day. There, the TMC has fielded actor-turned-former BJP MP from Bihar, Shatrughan Sinha, and the BJP바카라s hopeful is the party바카라s MLA, fashion designer-turned-politician Agnimitra Paul.
