The new generation of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) is stepping into politics with the upcoming Assembly elections being the learning ground.
Meet Priyadarshini Hakim, who stepped into active politics in recent years, and is now campaigning for her father Firhad, who is contesting from the Kolkata Port constituency.
“This is my privilege, my blessing. It is my honour that I learnt ideology, public life, serving society from Mamata Banerjee, my leader, and Firhad Hakim, who's also my leader and my father. From a very tender age, I have seen them struggling. I have not only seen them in power, I have seen them in Opposition, I have seen them being beaten, I have seen my father being beaten up by police and coming back,” said Priyadarshini.
Her father says that Left Front leaders of the past regime in West Bengal failed to bring their children into active politics.
“I think that what the CPI(M) has failed to do. When I am in power, when I am in a position, when I am able to work, I should bring up my next generation. Not me, it was Mamata Di who encouraged her to be in politics and said that you (Priyadarshini) should come into active politics. So, it is because of the encouragement of Mamata that she is in politics.”
Firhad, or Bobby Da as he is called, says he is fortunate that his children believe in the same ideology as him.
“If my children are of the same ideology, that is my win that I have injected my ideology in my children,” added Bobby Da.
It is however not easy for a father to see his daughter take on the harsh brickbats of public life. The Kolkata Mayor, however, says his children have a taste of politics, seeing their father in active politics while growing up.
“She has seen me in public life, my service to the people. If anyone does service to people, if anyone serves people and people accept that, what is the harm in that? So, I encourage her and said that you come, be in public, serve the public,” added her encouraging father.
Priyadarshini was a communications professional who decided to take the plunge into active politics after CM Mamata Banerjee’s encouragement. What evoked her political nerve was the arrest of her father in May 2021, in connection with the Narada sting operation.
“From them (Mamata and Firhad), I learnt—despite all odds—to serve society. It is something which it was re-instilled in me, but still, I was busy with my corporate life. I was leading a private life, but it was during my dad's arrest and it was also during COVID. People could not reach my father, they somehow reached me, for oxygen; people's last rites was happening in the cemetery or at cremation grounds—they are talking to me. They were calling me up. I was helping them,” added Priyadarshini, calling that phase a personal crisis when her father was in jail.
“At that time, the only solace which I got was by serving people. When I was helping others, it was bringing me relief. That is when Didi also said to me that it's your time to join politics full-time. I just want to join politics because it gives me a sense of purpose that when I'm serving the society. I am happy to do that to whichever capacity the party decides for me,” Priyadarshini explained.
She called Mamata a feminist who took women empowerment forward with social welfare schemes in the state, saying that it reflected on the TMC supremo’s will to encourage women to take the baton forward.
“She (Mamata) is a visionary and I believe in her vision. My dream will be to see women of Bengal from Kanyashree to Shastya Saati to Lakhmir Bhandar being empowered.”
“I want that the development, which we see from rural to urban woman of Bengal, reaches the whole of India and all Indian women can live freely and be economically independent,” she concluded, in speaking about her vision for the future.
