West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee reaches out to Punjabi community in Bhowanipore

KOLKATA: Bonding between Punjabis and Bengalis on her lips, quoting from the national anthem and voicing support for the farmers’ movement, chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday reached out to a cluster of Sikh and Punjabi voters who constitute 10% of the electorate in Bhowanipore.
CM Banerjee visited the Sant Kutiya Gurdwara on Harish Mukherjee Road in the afternoon, two days after she visited Sholo Aana Masjid in Ekbalpore and five days after she attended a Ganesh Chaturthi celebration at Maharashtra Niwas in Bhowanipore immediately after filing her nomination papers.
Banerjee had begun her election campaign from Ahindra Mancha in Chetla seven days ago with a closed-door party workers’ meeting. On Thursday, she will take part in a voter interaction programme at Uttam Udyan in Padmapukur, under ward 72 of Bhowanipore where her party had trailed in the last election.
On Wednesday, the CM, barefoot and head wrapped in her pallu, reached the gurdwara around 3pm. Her prayer offerings – four dalas of jalebi and laddoo — had reached before she did. Inside the gurdwara, she placed the offerings and a ‘chadar’ before the Guru Granth Sahib and prayed in front of the 100-odd gathering who coaxed her to address them.
She said the bonding between Punjabis and Bengalis goes long back and their contribution to the freedom movement was incontestable. “In the second line of the national anthem, Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore had mentioned Punjab as the first state and Bengal as the last. India may not have achieved freedom if Punjab was not there. Among the freedom fighters, the number of Bengalis and Punjabis are much more than that of any other community,” she said.
The Sikh and Punjabi community account for around 5,000-odd voters in the constituency. The total Hindi-speaking voters is around 40% of the electorate.
Banerjee also gave in to requests for selfies and groupfies with Punjabi women, many of whom had gathered hours before she arrived. “Even I have a Punjabi girl in my home. Abhishek’s (her nephew and Trinamool general secretary) wife Rujira is Punjabi. She comes to this gurdwara at 4am and even prays at Kalighat. She has even taught her daughter Punjabi chants and she can also spell them,” Banerjee said. She added that she loves Punjab and would want to visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar once.
Reacting to the farmers’ movement issue raised by a Punjabi visitor, Banerjee said: “I thoroughly support the farmers’ movement. The Centre should withdraw the three bills. Their representatives had come here and met me. Even I gave two or three public speeches over cellphone from here. Just inform me about any sort of cooperation you need from my end. Just order and I will do it.”
Before leaving, the CM quoted two sentences in Punjabi, prompting the crowd to chant in unison.
“She did not utter a single political word or seek votes. She often visits this gurdwara and it was just like another such visit. We also presented her with a shawl,” said Manjit Singh, who was in the gurdwara during Banerjee’s visit.