‘Didi is like Mother India’: Tracing the admirers and the economy of a Mamata rally

At a rally in Beleghata, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee (‘Didi’) ramped up her campaign for the second phase of the West Bengal assembly elections. 

Campaigning for her candidate, Kunal Ghosh, she blended populist welfare appeals with sharp barbs against Prime Minister Modi. Taking a dig at his recent outreach, Banerjee remarked: “He is eating jhalmuri. Eat some fish and show me! I eat your region's dhokla. I even eat dosa and litti,” evidently taking shots at the BJP’s politics over culinary choices. 

The air was thick with the ‘Didi’ brand of emotional politics. Supporters like Sujata Das said, “Didi is everything to us. Didi is our mother. Yes, much like ‘Mother India’, she is our mother. From birth until death, she looks after everything and provides for all our needs.” Das even dismissed the claims that her party’s handling of the R.G. Kar rape and murder case would hurt Banerjee, framing the victim’s mother's joining the BJP as a political manoeuvre. Others pointed fingers at the BJP’s own chequered record on women’s safety. 

While welfare schemes for women like the Lakshmir Bhandar remain the TMC’s trump card for female financial independence, our ground report revealed the rally's literal ‘grassroots’ economy. From paid party workers carrying posters to maximise visibility for the party to vendors selling Rs 30 kulfis, the event provided a temporary windfall, proving that in Bengal, the business of elections is as robust as its politics.

Watch this report. 

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