![](https://img.etimg.com/thumb/msid-81743601,width-300,height-225,imgsize-267320,resizemode-75/.jpg)
Supriyo is one of the five MPs fielded by the party to contest the West Bengal polls.
He is in the fray from Tollygunge – a traditional TMC bastion which the party has been winning since 2001- and is pitted against minister and three-term TMC MLA Aroop Biswas, who is considered close to the chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
Supriyo, who had earlier raised the matter of the increasing defections from the TMC camp to the BJP, said he had moved on to “make friends, rather than harbour enmity,” recognising that the challenger was fighting a historic battle to wrest the state.
“My only condition was, give me a really difficult seat. I am not a greedy man. I am already a central minister and an MP. If I were selfish, I could have said no to contesting," he said.
Supriyo lost his mother three months ago and has shifted base to Kolkata.
“I wanted to take the responsibility of fighting a tough seat for the party. The party and the State are on the cusp of something big. This is the time for us to give our best. There was speculation that Mamata Banerjee could have fought from here,” he added.
At his public meeting, Supriyo lashed out at Biswas and his brother Swaroop Biswas for not fulfilling the promises that they had made.
“My confidence about winning from here is not misplaced. This is the constituency of the PWD minister, but just look around, there are people living in many bastis (slums) here in dismal conditions, inside pipes, or near the canal that is completely uncovered, for years,” he pointed out.
“One could have made urban walkaways, provided housing and changed generations of people's lives. After being an MLA for 15 years, if you (Aroop Biswas) cannot do anything useful for the people, you will never do it," he added.
Despite being an MP, he has found it difficult to open an office in his constituency – Asansol, as he does not believe in using money or muscle power like the TMC, he said.
“I have been an MP in one of the most notorious places, Asansol, where the coal mafia flourishes, but I did not make myself a part of that system. I fought that system, got people arrested, because that is what voters expect you to do - put in place what is fair and right,” he said.
The campaign has had its share of drama.
Campaigning nearby on Anwar Shah Road, Aroop Biswas belted out one Hindi song after another, starting with "Tum Toh Tehre Pardesi" about foreigners and betrayers, and referring to Supriyo as a "half-pant" minister who plays football and spends time in fish markets in the name of political campaigning.
“People are poor here, and they remember it is Didi (as Mamata Banerjee is popularly known in the state) who gives midday meals to their children in schools. They want to ask you why you did not send any money for (cyclone relief during) Amphan? You know you will also lose and never come back here,” he told the crowd.
Supriyo's public meeting was interrupted by a group of youngsters who shouted slogans against the Modi government, but were swiftly sent back by a bigger group chanting Jai Shri Ram.
“Don't worry. They are hired goons of the TMC who have been sent to disturb us. Vote without fear as central forces will be there to protect you. Remember, this time, all these people carrying TMC flags and Didi slogans will vote for Modi and she would not even know," Supriyo told his supporters.
(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2024 Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)
Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online.
(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2024 Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)
Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online.