Kolkata:
It is Trinamool versus the rest in the ongoing assembly elections in West Bengal, but a parallel fight is being fought by "buddijibies" or intelligentsia -- the civil society loyal to rival political groups.
On Thursday, the group unhappy with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met the Chief Election Commissioner in Kolkata and complained of poll violations by her ruling Trinamool Congress. Rival intellectuals later met him to complain that Ms Banerjee and her party were being needlessly harassed.
The intelligentsia had hit the streets in November 2007 to protest against the incidents in Nandigram - the death of 14 persons in police firing and the Left Front's alleged strong-arm recapture the area. Most backed Mamata Banerjee. Some even joined her party.
"I never supported Mamata," said actor and director Kaushik Sen, who went to meet the Election Commission. "I marched for Nandigram because I thought the civil society must speak up. That space was destroyed when Mamata Banerjee came to power. It became political."
Actors Soumitra Chatterjee and Aparna Sen, he said, had signed the petition along with author Shanko Ghosh, former Justice Ashok Ganguly and others.
Sujato Bhadro, a human rights activist often seen around Ms Banerjee in 2011, went to the EC with Mr Sen. "Every form of democratic protest has been suppressed by Mamata," he said.
The rival group denied that meeting the Election commissioner it was a "tit for tat" move.
"We are hurt that the chief minister has been showcaused by the Election Commission, quite needlessly in our view," said economist Abhirup Sarkar. "Also, the kind of violence we have seen in the elections so far is really like school kids having a fight."
Singer Pratul Mukhopadhyay added, "The Election Commission should not only be impartial, it should be seen to be impartial and it is often not."
Will this negatively affect Ms Banerjee's electoral fortunes? One of her favourite songs, her supporters say, is "Ekla Cholo Ray (Go solo)" - the famous composition by Rabindranath Tagore.
On Thursday, the group unhappy with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met the Chief Election Commissioner in Kolkata and complained of poll violations by her ruling Trinamool Congress. Rival intellectuals later met him to complain that Ms Banerjee and her party were being needlessly harassed.
The intelligentsia had hit the streets in November 2007 to protest against the incidents in Nandigram - the death of 14 persons in police firing and the Left Front's alleged strong-arm recapture the area. Most backed Mamata Banerjee. Some even joined her party.
"I never supported Mamata," said actor and director Kaushik Sen, who went to meet the Election Commission. "I marched for Nandigram because I thought the civil society must speak up. That space was destroyed when Mamata Banerjee came to power. It became political."
Actors Soumitra Chatterjee and Aparna Sen, he said, had signed the petition along with author Shanko Ghosh, former Justice Ashok Ganguly and others.
Sujato Bhadro, a human rights activist often seen around Ms Banerjee in 2011, went to the EC with Mr Sen. "Every form of democratic protest has been suppressed by Mamata," he said.
The rival group denied that meeting the Election commissioner it was a "tit for tat" move.
"We are hurt that the chief minister has been showcaused by the Election Commission, quite needlessly in our view," said economist Abhirup Sarkar. "Also, the kind of violence we have seen in the elections so far is really like school kids having a fight."
Singer Pratul Mukhopadhyay added, "The Election Commission should not only be impartial, it should be seen to be impartial and it is often not."
Will this negatively affect Ms Banerjee's electoral fortunes? One of her favourite songs, her supporters say, is "Ekla Cholo Ray (Go solo)" - the famous composition by Rabindranath Tagore.
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
