Kolkata’s swish set gets ready for V-Day show

KOLKATA: Excitement around elections has scaled high walls of city’s high-rises with many residents resolving to cast their vote early on Sunday.
Many residents TOI spoke to in city’s tony neighbourhoods said they can point fingers at politicians only when they get themselves inked, fuelling hopes of a decent turnout from city’s gated communities that are known for lukewarm participation in polls.Fear of violence, disillusionment with the political class and disconnect with candidates have been some of the factors responsible for the low turnout from city highrises in the election process in the past.

“But things are changing,” said Sneha Chatterjee, resident of Elita Garden Vista, an upscale residential complex in New Town’s Action Area III. “We expect the sky from our representatives, but it will be hypocrisy if we do not vote ourselves,” said the homemaker. “We can point fingers at our representatives only after we get ourselves inked. If we do not vote, we have no right to hold our politicians accountable,” added Narayan Ruia, resident of DLF New Town Heights.
The issue of nationalism and national security seems to have found resonance among several residents of gated communities in the city and a tilt towards a “decisive” leader was evident. “Safety of our country is an important issue, which many political parties have not given due importance. We need a decisive leader who will think of these issues,” said Basant Kanoria, a resident of Avishikta Phase I off EM Bypass.
Interestingly, several local issues also featured prominently among the residents’ concerns. “Construction materials are dumped on the road here which can lead to accidents. The pollution in Kolkata has increased manifold. People have encroached several places even in a township like New Town. Parties need to address these basic issues,” said Ayush Agarwal, who lives in Sukhobrishti in New Town, which has over 4,000 apartments.
Political parties are aware of the aspirations of the upwardly mobile and are trying to balance the delicate urban-rural divide in their canvassing. On Sunday, urban (Kolkata North and Kolkata South) and semi-urban constituencies (Jadavpur, Dum Dum, Barasat) are going to polls.
“The demography is fast changing, and areas are getting urbanised. This section has very different aspirations and political parties will have to recalibrate their strategies quickly. Most people from these high-rises do not step out to vote because political parties do not have much to offer to them in their discourses,” said Shantanu Ghosh, a political scientist.
Many residents said they will be opting for NOTA (none of the above option). “I want to vote but I am not in agreement with the discourse of the political parties that are in the fray. That is why I have decided to register my protest by voting for NOTA,” said Kalyan Guha Roy, a resident of Mankaran near Subhas Sarovar off EM Bypass.