The Hindu : Nafisa Ali, Congress candidate from South Kolkata

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 24, 2004

National

National - Elections 2004

Nafisa Ali, Congress candidate from South Kolkata

To many, she is a former beauty queen; to some she is a champion swimmer and to a few she is a dedicated social worker. The person in question is Nafisa Ali, the Congress challenger to the Nationalist Trinamool Congress supremo, Mamata Banerjee, the sitting MP in South Kolkata parliamentary constituency. The forty-plus Ms. Ali knows that she is up against a formidable foe and hardly stands a chance to earn the sobriquet of a giant-killer. But she is unfazed. With a broad grin, she says: "I am here to tell the voters that Mamata has let down the people badly by joining hands with the communal forces. Victory or defeat comes later."

For the past one week that she was here, Ms. Ali criss-crossed her constituency from dawn to dusk with a bunch of Congress workers in tow. Almost always clad in the regulation broad-bordered Bengal Tangail sari with a bindi plastered on her forehead, she could be seen walking down little known lanes and by-lanes with her hands folded in a namaste.

The familiarisation tour, Ms. Ali says, was a huge success. "I am getting the feel of the area, meeting Congress workers and explaining to the voters why I decided to contest the poll," she tells The Hindu, taking some time off on a hot summer afternoon.

What does Ms. Banerjee think about her non-resident Kolkatan opponent, Ms. Ali? Not much, it seems. The MP from South Kolkata for the past 13 years, she is anything but worried about her rival. She is a bit condescending perhaps when she tells her supporters in private: "No one is my rival. Not even Rabin Deb (the CPI (M) candidate). As for Nafisa, she is a pretty face. But pretty women are entitled to air their views [too]."

Currently based in Delhi with her husband and three children, Ms. Ali left Kolkata 24 years ago and did not have much to do with the city she grew up in. Her father, Ahmed Ali, a well-known photographer, her sister and a crop of friends are her link with Kolkata. Interestingly, Mr. Ali always voted for Ms. Banerjee till his daughter appeared on the election scene.

How is she going about campaigning in the constituency? "Kemon achhen (How are you)," asks Ms. Ali, as she tries to open a conversation with the voters in broken Bengali. "Trust me to serve you. Sewa (service) is my dharma (religion). I try to look after hundreds of hapless AIDS victims all year round. So, I think I can take care of your problems, too," she says with the charming smile of hers. The smile seems genuine and the people in the Gariahat area, a predominantly middle-class locality, curiously watch her every little move. While moving around, if she sees any graffiti in her favour, she immediately brings out her digital camera and captures it.

Why did she decide to put on a politician's hat? "I was very keen on being a part of this election which will see the downfall of [the] BJP. Pranab babu (Bengal Congress president) offered me the seat and I took it," says Ms. Ali. In Congress circles, the theory is that Ms. Ali, who is a direct choice of the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, could get herself a seat in the Rajya Sabha even if she gets mauled by Ms. Banerjee.

Malabika Bhattacharya

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