Will the whip crack again in Ballygunge?

Kolkata, Apr 26 (UNI) With the mass base fast eroding and opposition Trinamool Congress in a sharp move pitting Javed Khan against Left Front Chief Whip Rabin Deb, several political equations have been upset in this traditional red bastion of Ballygunge.

For the last 30 years the constituency has returned Left candidates victorious, but unlike the other six occasions this time Mr Rabin Deb is pegged down by a fast changing ground scenario in the bustees, combined by an anti-incumbency factor that Javed Khan is riding.

While the seat has helped Mr Deb return victorious two times in the past, there is a certain haze over the outcome of the polls this time round. Khan has significant following in the Tiljala-Topsia region, which has a sizable Muslim population.

Almost 75,000 voters of the 1,92,000 electorate from the constituency comes from the minority community.

While Mr Deb can boast of a host of development work in his constituency that range from building seven bridges, to opening a college and two schools namely Wahid Memorial and Jagabandhu Girls, Mr Khan as a MIC in charge of bustees have had a chance of coming close to the slum dwellers.

No wonder flags with blades of grass flutter briskly in the warm west wind in these areas, where the traditional colour has been red.

Left has been winning here since 1977 and the last time any non-left candidate won here was Subrata Mukherjee in 1972 on a Congress ticket. After that the seat went to Sachin Sen and then to Mr Deb in 1996.

Ironically it is congress candidate Dibyendu Biswas who can help Deb complete a hat-trick, by walking away with a slice of Khan's cake. With both Khan and Deb showing no nerves at all, one has to wait till April 27 to see who flinches first.

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