Kolkata, Apr 20 (PTI) With barely nine days left for polling in Bhabanipur, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday turned her attention to her own backyard, embarking on an intensive door-to-door outreach in the constituency she has represented for over a decade.
After spending the last three weeks criss-crossing West Bengal to campaign for Trinamool Congress candidates, Banerjee since Sunday has been campaigning in Bhabanipur, where voting will be held in the second phase on April 29.
The chief minister, who is the outgoing MLA from the seat, wrapped up a scheduled election meeting on Shakespeare Sarani and headed straight to Ward No. 63 under the Bhabanipur assembly segment.
There, in a tightly choreographed but low-key campaign, Banerjee visited five large residential complexes — Ganga-Yamuna, Shyamkunj, Victoria, Dimple Court and another nearby housing block — spending more than half an hour speaking to residents.
The interaction, which began around 6.45 pm, was kept deliberately intimate. The media was not allowed inside the apartment complexes, and Banerjee, flanked by a small group of local leaders and security personnel, moved from one housing society to another, stopping to speak individually to residents.
Party leaders said the chief minister focused on three themes during the interaction.
First, she presented what the TMC described as her “report card” as Bhabanipur MLA, highlighting the changes in the constituency and in Kolkata over the last 15 years under her government.
She also sought direct feedback on civic services provided by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, asking residents whether they were receiving water, electricity, sanitation and other municipal services regularly.
Banerjee is also learnt to have outlined a broader roadmap for the constituency, giving residents a glimpse of what she called “larger plans” for Bhabanipur and adjoining areas if the TMC returns to power.
The outreach appeared designed to plug a gap in Banerjee’s own campaign. Since the election schedule was announced, she has spent most of her time outside Bhabanipur, travelling across districts to address rallies for party candidates.
On Sunday too, she had held a meeting with residents at Ladies’ Park in Ward No. 72, signalling that the TMC has now shifted into campaign overdrive in the constituency.
Political observers said Banerjee’s decision to reach out directly to residents of housing complexes reflected a familiar electoral strategy.
Bhabanipur, with its mix of middle-class, upper middle-class and traditional Bengali neighbourhoods, has often rewarded personal contact over high-decibel campaigning. Banerjee has repeatedly relied on such close-quarter interactions in the constituency, particularly among apartment-dwelling voters who often remain outside the orbit of conventional street-corner campaigns.
This time, however, the stakes are considerably higher.
Bhabanipur has emerged as one of the most keenly watched contests of the 2026 assembly polls, with Banerjee, a three-term MLA from the seat, locked in a direct battle against Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari.
The contest has acquired added political significance as it is being seen as a rematch of the 2021 Nandigram battle, where Adhikari had defeated Banerjee after quitting the TMC and joining the BJP.
That perhaps explains why, in the final stretch before campaigning, Banerjee chose to spend Monday evening not on a large public platform, but inside the courtyards and community spaces of Bhabanipur’s apartment blocks, listening to grievances, seeking reassurance and tightening her grip over a constituency that has long been considered her political home. PTI PNT NN NN
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