Days after chants of “Jai Shri Ram” filled the air around Hooghly’s Dunlop Ground during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally for BJP, it was the turn of “Joy Bangla” chants that reverberated during Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s rally here on Wednesday.
BJP’s saffron flags were replaced with Trinamool’s tricolour flags and the ground buzzed with catchy slogans and songs with beats of traditional musical instruments like maadol, khonjoni, dhaak and dhol. As an enthusiastic crowd indulged in clicking selfies, the political rally looked more of a celebration.
“Ami Didi ke dekhbo bole, aar onar kotha shunbo bole eshechhi (I have come here to see and listen to Didi),” said 45-year-old Jadabi Ghosh, an anganwadi worker, referring to Mamata Banerjee. A resident of Hooghly’s Bora area, Ghosh said that she and her family members were beneficiaries of the state government’s schemes such as widow and old-age pensions.