Desperate Left chases elusive canal votebank

KOLKATA: Life on canal banks was messy but profitable. For years, hundreds of settlers along Beliaghata Canal and Tolly’s Nullah provided a secure votebank for the CPM. And then came the ‘development wave.’
Almost overnight, hundreds of people along Canal West Road in Beliaghata and Tolly’s Nullah were evicted from their shanties.
Canal-side beautification and the Metro extension project demanded that thousands of people be evicted from what they thought were their permanent homes.The CPM, after wooing the families for decades with ration cards and voter I-cards,were forced to turn their backs on the settlers.
But with elections, the CPM is in a state of panic. Fearing a drastic loss in votes, the Left cadres are rushing to their one-time loyalists in the Kolkata North-East constituency with promises, short-time jobs and other goodies.
Families on Canal West Road in Narkeldanaga suddenly find that they can earn a tidy sum by taking on small jobs. The going rate for putting identity cards in plastic jackets is Rs 10 for 100 cards. Money comes from making party banners and posters and contract jobs at road widening projects. The sudden spate of sops seems to have worked and the CPM is gaining an edge over the Trinamul for the moment.
“We will vote for the Red Party. We have suppored them all these years and will continue to do so. Though we were evicted, the party provided us space on the other side of the road,� said Rahima Khatun who has been voting in Kolkata North East for past 15 years, from her Canal West Road shanty.
“We have very little choice but to vote for the Red Party. Some young people were against the CPM, but they have been brought back,� she says, with unusual fervour. At the southern fringes, oustees from Tolly Nullah banks, suffered the same fate. But these settlers are not ready to forgive or forget easily. Most of the oustees have gone to the districts and refuse to vote. “We will not go out on voting day,� says an angry Arun Das, a tea stall owner. The CPM, however, refuses to give up. Cadres and leaders are chasing each family with a vengeance, trying their best to woo back the settlers. Trinamul candidate Ajit Panja’s camp is now trying to take advantage of the situation.
“With the eviction drive, a large number of illegal settlers who were CPM voters were forced to leave the area. This improves our prospect as all of them were dedicated Left voters,� said a close confidante of Panja. Perhaps the ultimate losers will be the canal oustees whose luck will last only till the elections are over.