Mousumi adds glamour, but victory is a far cry

The induction of Mousumi Chatterjee, an icon of Bengal's celluloid world in the Seventies, as a Congress candidate for the Kolkata North East constituency has added a bit of glamour to the contest but has disillusioned thousands of loyal Congress supporters at the grass roots level.
"It's a gimmick that's going to cost the party dearly," say ordinary party workers.

The actress, now settled in Mumbai, started her career at the age of 12 having acted in a film entitled Balika Badhu (Child Bride) which was directed by Tarun Majumdar, an acclaimed Bengali director. The film, a social commentary in the backdrop of the independent movement and highlighting women's education, won millions of hearts in the early 1970s.

The success catapulted Chatterjee to the pinnacle of success in the Eighties as she acted in other Bengali as well as Hindi films with heroes like Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna and Uttam Kumar.

In recent years, she has still been signing contracts for films and television serials but mostly for supporting roles.

So it came as a big surprise when the Congress high command in West Bengal approved her name as the party's candidate for the Kolkata North East constituency. "It was like a bolt from the blue. She did not even have any remote link with politics," said a Congress Block president in North Kolkata. "And even as the poll tempo has been rising steadily over the past few days, Mousumi Chatterjee is yet to kick off her campaign seriously.

Party workers have come to realise that the Congress challenge to the seat is over even before the battle has begun," he added.

The obvious question to Mousumi when she arrived in Kolkata last week from Mumbai was: "Why have you entered politics?" Chatterjee replied: " It was a request from Mrs Sonia Gandhi, the Congress President. I could not turn it down. Besides, I want to work for the people. I have that courage of conviction and the honesty to serve them with sincerity. I had signed in for a couple of movies but I have already returned the advance," she said.

But a political battle is far removed from mere charm and glamour. She is pitted against a formidable Ajit Panja of the Trinamool Congress, a former Union minister who has won elections a record 12 times since he joined politics. Six of these victories were in the state Assembly and six in Parliament.

Apart from being a seasoned politician, Panja is a barrister and a stage artist, too. He has acted in at least 200 stage performances over the past few years in the role of Ramakrishna Paramhansa, a Hindu religious figure. He also nurses his constituency throughout the year.

"I have been a true fan of Mousumi," said Panja when her nomination was made public. It triggered an instant reply from Chatterjee: "If Panja is a true fan of mine, he should prove that by his action. He can leave the Kolkata North East constituency to his fan at least for one term."

With Mousumi Chatterjee as a "political non-entity" in the contest, the real fight in this constituency will be between Ajit Panja and Mohammed Salim, a nominee of the Communist Party of India- Marxist, a Left party that holds power in Bengal now.

Young and energetic, Salim is a leader from the party's youth front. He has the well-oiled Marxist voting machinery to back his efforts and he has fought against Panja in an earlier election which he lost by over 28,000 votes. Salim may strive hard to reduce the gap, but Panja is still tipped to be the winner. Mousumi Chatterjee could be a poor third.