^{Now, Vivekananda on Howrah poll canvass}

HOWRAH: Even Swami Vivekananda seems to have been “roped in“ for the election campaign as a political party with little clout in Bengal uses his photoghraph and quote in its posters.
In the posters plastered in parts of Howrah (Central), Vivekananda, in his usual folded-arm posture, is reminding voters that “chalakir dara kono mohot kaaj somponno kora jai na (nobility can't be attained through cunning)“.Below, Janata Dal (United), with its arrow symbol, makes the poster complete. And just in case, you wonder who this JD (U) candidate is, another poster beside it makes it clear: Amitabha Dutta, a 54-year-old educationist.
Dutta is supported by Left Front and even the Congress is extending him a helping hand.Chief minister Mamata Banerjee's personal camaraderie with Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar notwithstanding, Dutta is taking on agriculture-marketing minister Arup Ray , a key figure in the Mamata cabinet. Ray also happens to be the Howrah district president of Trinamool. Ray claimed he never came across such a “sly“ campaigning. “I have lodged a complaint with the Election Commission.How can revered personalities be used for campaigning? This is very petty and an obvious law violation,“ he said. Dutta, however, is unfazed. Though initially reluctant to admit he was using the Vivekananda posters, he later said, “Both chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi keep quoting Vivekananda at the drop of a hat. But their policies are far from what he said. I wished to highlight this disconnect.Rest, people will figure out.“
He argued Vivekananda here was a metaphor. “The attempt here is to drive home facts from makebelieve.“ Dutta isn't new to politics. The science graduate, who also completed his BE (mechanical), had contested from Howrah (South) on a Trinamool ticket. “I was disillusioned with the party ,“ he said.
The posters appeared to have generated curiosity. At Howrah's Nabin Senapati Lane, when TOI took the photographs, people asked if the EC would be alerted. “This is sheer political bankruptcy,“ said Devendra Chauhan, a resident. Even Ramakrishna Mission's Belur Math headquarters is unhappy , monks calling it unethical. But they didn't want to dabble into politics.
But for now, Dutta has achieved what he sought. From a person known for his schools in Howrah, has has jumped to political limelight, with a little nudge from Vivekananda.