Betrayal cry to test jote mettle

BERHAMPORE: Intrigue, treachery and conspiracies have historically been inseparable from politics in Murshidabad.Once the capital of Bengal, Bihar and Odisha, the town may now have been reduced to a mere relic of the past, but the legacy of deceit still trails the seat of arguably the most decisive battle lost to the British -the battle of Plassey . Going to polls, a large section of voters owing allegiance to Congress and the CPM can't shrug off a feeling of betrayal that has been triggered by an unforeseen alliance of the once arch-rivals. It is the need of the hour, argue the allies.

"This alliance has come as a disappointment. We can't imagine the two rivals ­ who have fought so bitterly over the decades ­ coming together for political gain. As a Congress sympathizer, I feel let down. So do the CPM supporters. This is what you call treachery, "said Syed Reza Ali Mirza, a 16th generation descendant of Mir Jaffer.

It's not just the Nawabs who feel cheated by politicians. The grassroots workers, too, are upset. Former headmaster in Nabagram, Mohamed Muazzam Hus sain, is a veteran Congressman who has been part of many a political battle. Hounded by the CPM in early Eighties, Hussain had to seek shelter outside the district on numerous occasions. " As many as 56 Congress workers have been killed in this village in the last 30 years. On Monday ,I had to step inside the local CPM party office and I felt so humiliated. I accepted it with a heavy heart and for the sake of defe ating the Trinamool," rued Hussain.

The CPM, too, has been grappling to come to terms with the alliance. It has been working well in some pockets, but not so smoothly in others. In Berhampore, Congress' Manoj Chakrabarty has received unstinted support But in Murshidabad, Congress candidate Shaoni Sinha Ray enjoys a fractured support against Trinamool's Asim Bhatta. The alliance is a shame, cries veteran CPM sympathizer Barun Mukherjee. "We have dug our own grave by aligning with the Congress. It shows that we are bankrupt. We have let our supporters down," he said.

Anger haS been followed by a grudging acceptance, reasoned Ranjan Bhattacharya, head of psychology at Murshidabad hospital. "This takes the district back to its not so glorious days of history. It may pass just as the nawabs of Murshidabad have melted away. But in politics you never know," said Bhattacharya.

Dhirendranath Yadav, district secretary of Congress, however, believes that the alliance was inevitable. "Only a united opposition can take on the tyranny of Trinamool. This is the need of the hour and people know that," said Yadav.