Kolkata: Saayoni Ghosh’s selection as a Lok Sabha candidate didn’t take anyone by surprise. Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders present at the party’s mega rally at Kolkata’s Brigade Parade grounds said the fact that Mamata Banerjee fielded her from the prestigious Jadavpur parliamentary seat — from where Mamata made her parliamentary debut after defeating Left veteran Somnath Chatterjee — is being seen as a reward for Ghosh’s hard work.
The 31-year-old has been fielded in place of sitting MP and actor Mimi Chakraborty, who was elected from Jadavpur in the 2019 general elections.
Saayoni Ghosh, who is also an actor, hit the campaign trail just hours after her name was announced by TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee Sunday. With supporters by her side, she walked the streets of Jadavpur, meeting and greeting voters. The BJP has also announced its candidate from this seat, Dr Anirban Ganguly, who has been campaigning since last week.
Interestingly, both Saayoni Ghosh and Anirban Ganguly contested the 2021 assembly polls — from Asansol Dakshin and Bolpur respectively — and lost. However, the two will be locking horns from Jadavpur this time after their respective parties reaffirmed their faith in them.
“In 2021, TMC fought with the slogan Bangla nijer meye ke chaye (Bengal wants its own daughter) and Didi (Mamata Banerjee) told me to let the daughter of Jadavpur return to Jadavpur. I am from Jadavpur, and this is a prestigious seat and the bigger the challenge, the better. I am very confident,” said Saayoni as she crisscrossed the streets of Jadavpur, waving to local residents.
“I am not an armchair politician. In the last three years, I have worked in three films and addressed 300 sabhas,” added Ghosh.
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Connect with youth, a 2021 arrest
The white cotton saree, white slippers, hair in a top knot, Ghosh comes across as a young Mamata Banerjee who rose through the ranks from student politics herself before becoming the first woman chief minister of West Bengal.
It’s been only two and half years since Ghosh joined the TMC. The 31-year-old actor recently lost her mother due to prolonged illness but continued her political engagements the very next day. In 2021, after losing the Vidhan Sabha polls, she was appointed president of the TMC’s youth wing, taking over charge from Mamata’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee.
Ghosh’s 2021 arrest in an attempt to murder case in Tripura instantly made headlines. The TMC stood behind her, with Abhishek Banerjee flying down to Tripura, a delegation meeting Home Minister Amit Shah and Mamata saying she would raise the arrest with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She got bail a day after her arrest.
“Even though the TMC failed to overturn the Tripura government, Saayoni was seen leading from the front, where her fight didn’t go unnoticed by the leadership. Saayoni has a youth connect, Mamata Banerjee has been heard praising her singing skills on stage as well,” political analyst Jayanta Ghoshal told ThePrint.
When Ghosh was campaigning for the 2021 assembly polls in Asansol, she climbed down into the Eastern Coalfields Ltd coal mine to seek votes from miners who come from nearby villages. Acknowledging her as a “streetfighter” Mamata campaigned for her.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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