The Hindu : National / Elections 2004 : The importance of being "Barkat-da"

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Saturday, May 08, 2004

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National - Elections 2004

The importance of being "Barkat-da"

Malabika Bhattacharya

Kolkata

A.B.A. Ghani Khan Choudhury is a much sought-after man these days. Pranab Mukherjee and Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, both heavyweight Congress leaders, are seeking his blessings to win the election, because they know Mr. Choudhury's charisma in North Bengal is still unbeatable. Mr. Choudhury himself is seeking entry into Parliament from Malda for the eighth time in a row. Facing him is Pranab Das, a young member of the CPI (M)'s Malda district committee.

For someone whom Malda is almost a pocket borough, the 2004 election should be no big deal. Better known as "Barkat-da," Mr. Choudhury made Malda, a faceless district to most of India a household name in Bengal politics. Since 1972 when he was first elected MLA, Mr. Choudhury (he became MP in 1980) almost single-handedly transformed Malda into a prosperous district by influencing Central investment decisions in favour of projects located in the constituency.

His achievements are impressive: railway and power projects, banks, a slew of small industries, construction activities, beautification and the like.

But today, at age 77, he is facing the stiffest of all challenges. This is not to say that he won't make it to Parliament this time; he is likely to. But not before clearing roadblocks such as the CPI (M)'s charges of non-performance against him, a strong Bharatiya Janata Party presence and a vacillating vote bank made up of young voters.

In the changing equations of Congress politics since Indira Gandhi's assassination, his electoral margins got somewhat reduced, as he did not hold any major office. Mr. Choudhury's supporters openly tell the voters that he will be in the Central cabinet if the Congress comes to power after the poll. The unstated implication is that the voter, instead of backing the wrong horse, would do well to continue with "Barkat-da."

The importance of "Barkat-da" is not entirely lost on the Congress leadership in New Delhi, which is busy these days figuring out how many seats it can be sure of winning. Party president Sonia Gandhi's personal computer shows Malda as one. Realising this, Ms Gandhi is flying to North Bengal to hold rallies in favour of Mr. Mukherjee and Mr. Das Munshi, not Mr. Choudhury.District CPI (M) leaders say Mr. Choudhury's solid Muslim vote bank, forming nearly 50 per cent of the 11 lakh voters, had become alienated. According to them, "Baku-mian" (as he is called by his community), had been out of office for so many years that he had lost his aura. In other words, shorn of power and fame, he cannot influence Government decisions in favour of Malda and his community, in that order. Says Manik Sarkar, Chief Minister of Tripura, who had come to Malda to campaign for the CPI (M) nominee: "He (Mr. Choudhury) has not been performing as an MP at all for so many years. How many days has he attended Parliament over the past five years? Our candidate is young and active." Mr. Sarkar may be right. In the 2001 Assembly election, the Congress lost four of the seven seats it had won in the previous polls. What is heartening for the Marxists is that in the last panchayat election, the CPI (M) did extremely well in two municipalities.

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