Bengal polls BJP’s Rudranil Ghosh flags civic decay seeks change in Shibpur

Kolkata, Apr 22 (PTI) For someone who grew up in the busy, close-knit neighbourhood of Shibpur in West Bengal's south Howrah, actor-turned-politician Rudranil Ghosh finds his return home-- now as a BJP candidate for the elections -- both nostalgic and unsettling.
    The sense of nostalgia comes naturally. As a candidate from his hometown Shibpur, Ghosh is welcomed warmly by people who know him well.
    Old neighbours, childhood friends, and familiar faces greet him with affection rather than formality, calling him by his nickname, 'Babai,' as he walks through the lanes asking for their support. Each meeting reminds him that he belongs there, bringing memories that soften the edges of the political contest.
    Each interaction, he says, reinforces his bond with the area, even as he confronts what he describes as a sharp decline in civic conditions.
    "What was once a proud, centuries-old urban settlement now bears signs of neglect -- uncollected garbage, clogged drains and waterlogging even after light showers," he said.
    "People voted for the Trinamool Congress with great expectations in 2011 and continued to do so for the next 10 years, yet civic amenities have reached rock bottom. Wherever you look, garbage spills onto the roads. After 5 pm, mosquitoes take over. This is not a liveable city," Ghosh said while campaigning in the locality.
    Pointing to a defunct tubewell, he alleged, "This mirrors the state of affairs in the constituency. They have ‘killed’ this amenity, and attempts will be made to dispose of it as scrap and pocket the money. We will not allow that."
    Ghosh had contested the 2021 Assembly elections from Bhabanipur but lost, finishing runner-up while improving the BJP’s vote share compared to 2016.
    "The focus of my campaign is to end this misgovernance that has crippled civic infrastructure and promoted a culture of loot and ‘cut money’, where sanctioned funds for public projects are siphoned off," he alleged.
    "The results are visible in potholed roads, non-functional tube wells and taps, and drains that are never cleaned," he said.
    Ghosh said he felt a deep sense of sadness at the near absence of civic amenities in what was once a bustling town. Having been born and raised in the area, educated there, and introduced to football at the local club ground as well as to group theatre and the stage, the actor said he has a strong personal connection with the locality.
    The town, once associated with luminaries such as writer Mani Shankar Mukhopadhyay, has now come to be identified with shuttered factory premises and a proliferation of high-rises that flout established civic norms, he alleged.
    "Janjalmukto Sibpur, aar noy besi dur’ (a Shibpur free of garbage isn’t far). That’s my dream and not a far-fetched one. It’s achievable once we dislodge this regime, which came to power promising ‘Poriborton’ (change) but failed to deliver and instead ushered in a government of corruption, syndicate, and cut money," Ghosh said.
    Ghosh’s political voyage began during his days in college when he signed up with the SFI, the student wing of the CPI(M). He shifted allegiance to the TMC after Mamata Banerjee ascended to state power in 2011 and was subsequently named chairman of the State Council of Vocational Education and Training. He jumped ship to the BJP in 2020.
    "The initial euphoria with the TMC dislodging the Left quickly evaporated with the incumbent party becoming synonymous with corruption, muscle flexing, and lack of transparency in public exercises," Ghosh said.
    "And with one scam unfolded after another during the current regime alongside its flourishing syndicate raj", the actor said he felt suffocated.
    "I was holding an important position in a state undertaking, and I could have continued. But I did not wish to remain a part of a corrupt government which is associated with every kind of theft --from grain, coal, sand, cattle to tubewell parts," he said.
    The candidate justified his visit to the local Ram temple during Ram Navami saying, "Lord Ram is embedded in our hearts, and no matter what the TMC may say, they cannot ignore the fact that the word Ram finds its place in the names of a wide variety places in Bengal such as Ramnagar and Srirampur. It features within the names of many Bengali Hindus as well. The name of the sculptor Ramkinkar Baij also has Ram in it," he said.
    In a seat where the controversial SIR exercise is likely to impact the poll outcome, Ghosh alleged that the TMC was "unfairly linking the BJP with roll revision exercise which is being conducted by the EC to prevent unauthorised electors from casting vote."
    Like in many other electoral pockets of the state, Ghosh too is embroiled in the local versus ‘outsider’ debate where his prime opponent, TMC's Rana Chatterjee, is labeled as an 'outsider' by the BJP since he resides in Bally area of north Howrah.
    Ghosh, though, strongly refuted the opponent’s slur against him, saying "My vote, my ancestral residence, even my land deed connects me to Shibpur. I stay in Kolkata because of work in the film industry, but this is where I belong."

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)