Mimi Chakraborty's 'chai pe charcha' adds colour to evening adda at Patuli

KOLKATA: Not only the saffron brigade, “chai pe charcha” is becoming popular with its political rivals in Bengal too, as the party’s challengers are finding it an effective mode as they get into their mass contact drive during the poll campaign. Trinamool’s Mimi Chakraborty, who will hold at least 10 such informal meetings with the voters, is now looking forward to start campaigning extensively in Jadavpur and the Tollygunge area.

It was a pleasant surprise for a motley crowd on the Sunday evening when an SUV halted in front of the Jheel Park in Patuli, when the Trinamool candidate for Jadavpur constituency got off the car to head straight towards a tea stall. The stall, put up at a corner of Biswa Bangla Sarani at Patuli, has been a popular joint for the people staying on the south-eastern fringe of the city.

Jhumpa Mandal comes here often on weekends to have a cup of tea with her family members. “It is not just the tea, but an ambience which everyone enjoys. Sometimes we would sit here for hours and friends would join,” she said. “They play songs of Nachiketa and we enjoy that as we chat,” she added. Mandal was handed over a cup of tea the moment she reached the stall on Sunday.

It was even more surprising for the woman in her mid-thirties when Mimi walked past her. Mandal, like hundreds gathered at the spot, took out the phone and started clicking photographs. “She will be holding such meetings across Jadavpur in the next few weeks. Such intense and informal mass contact programmes have been quite a success in other parts of the country,” said Bappaditya Dasgupta, councillor of Ward 101.

Mimi was open to the idea of “Chai Pe Charcha” despite the event being synonymous with the campaigns of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “What is wrong with a charcha?” she asked. “It is an innovative way to connect with the people,” she added. “We found it best to attack the BJP with the weapon they have used frequently,” Dasgupta added.

As she spoke to the people and the media, she conveyed a confidence not very usual for a newbie in politics. “My uncles are actively into politics and so was my grandfather who had been an active Congress supporter. So, I have grown up in a family discussing politics since childhood,” said Mimi. “My father is extremely excited, but my mother is a bit worried — mainly because of the huge burden of expectations and responsibility that comes with the candidature,” she said.