Stung TMC sprouts a myriad Madans

Kolkata: Masked party workers are better than tainted leaders - never mind if the masks are that of a tainted leader himself.
Thousands of Trinamool Congress workers in Kamarhati donned paper masks of Madan Mitra at a rally on Sunday afternoon. Mitra, the jailed minister fighting on a Trinamool ticket, is one of those purportedly seen receiving a bribe in the Narada sting operation video released recently.
Senior party leader Saugata Roy - so far thought to be one of the cleanest faces of Trinamool - was supposed to campaign for Mitra. But he too is one of those who is apparently seen taking wads of cash in the same video.
Mitra's supporters on Sunday roamed the constituency, traversing at least seven wards in Kamarhati municipality after taking out the campaign rally from ward No. 24.
The campaign started from Teachers Colony on Nilganj Road and ended at Belghoria's Deshopriyanagar. Mitra's wife, Archana, and eldest son Swarup also took part in the rally.
Thirty-five-year-old homemaker Jharna Das, a resident of Panchanantala in Belghoria, was taken aback when a group of masked men came to her and sought her vote for the ruling party candidate. Mitra's supporters approached her when she went to collect water from a road-side tap.
Bimal Saha, the Trinamool councillor from Ward 24 who had organized the campaign, said that it was a huge success. "I gave order for 1500 masks. But more than three thousand people joined the rally. Initially, we were supposed to cover only Ward 24. Later, we visited six more wards," Saha told TOI.
He also said that they made the move to remind the voters that their beloved Madan da is with them. "Madan da will remain in the hearts of the people of Kamarhati forever. He has always worked for the poor people," Saha said.
"People in Kamarhati have responded positively when we reached their doorsteps. We found overwhelming response in every corner of Kamarhati," said Subrata Roychowdhury, a Madan loyalist.
Kamarhati's CPM candidate Manash Mukherjee, however, said that the Trinamool Congress has hurt the people's sentiments here by fielding a "tainted leader" and a jailed person as a candidate.
"A jailed person shouldn't have been nominated as a candidate. Two Trinamool leaders, including the local MLA and MP, were seen taking bribe in the sting operation video. People will never accept them," Mukhejee