The RSS, too, has increased its footprint in South as well as North Dinajpur. “We run schools and carry out many social and cultural activities. We have been quite successful in our endeavour to make people here more religious and spiritual and take pride in their sanatani heritage. Our work among the adivasis has been very encouraging. We have also got a very good response from the majority Bengali Hindu community in these parts,” said an RSS karyakarta.

The fallout of the increasing footprint of the Sangh Parivar in Balurghat is apparent. Over the past couple of years, Ram Navami, Hanuman Jayanti and Ganesh Chaturthi are being celebrated with increasing fervour and by a greater number of people. Even the interior villages of Balurghat were awash with saffron Ram Navami flags a couple of weeks ago.

Ram Navami processions in Balurghat and small towns attracted hundreds of participants, and many houses and business establishments here proudly fly the saffron dhwaja - an overt proclamation of Hindu identity.

Advantage BJP

But all this still does not explain the tailwind that is propelling the BJP towards a probable victory. Political analyst Bhupesh Barman explains that a very strange and unique sentiment seems to be working among the electorate of Balurghat.

“People of Balurghat feel that the state government’s ability to usher in economic progress of the area is limited and only the BJP can ensure that. They feel that if they send the BJP candidate to the Lok Sabha, a number of their demands for mega projects will be met. They have seen projects like the four-lane highway to Hilli on the Indo-Bangladesh border underway and they want more. They also think that Professor Majumdar (the BJP candidate) stands a good chance of being made a minister in the next government, which they believe will be an NDA one. And their MP, if made a minister, can bring in a lot of development. They feel that if Arpita Ghosh is re-elected, she will once again be sitting in the Opposition benches and that will do no good to Balurghat,” said Burman.

People of Balurghat have been disappointed with the dashing of repeated hopes raised by the Mamata Banerjee government of making the Mahinagar airport of Balurghat operational once again for commercial flights. “Commercial flights can be made viable only under the UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) scheme launched by the Modi government and for that, the cooperation of the Union government is necessary.

It is much better to have an MP in the treasury benches than in the Opposition benches for this,” said Amarendra Majumder, a retired state government employee who is now associated with a social organisation.

A major demand of the people of Balurghat is increasing the frequency of trains to Kolkata and Siliguri. This demand, too, can be met only by the Union government and electing Majumdar thus makes more sense for the people there. The Atreyee river that originates near Siliguri in North Bengal and flows through Bangladesh before re-entering India at Balurghat is a perennial source of woe for the people of Balurghat.

Since Bangladesh siphons off most of the river’s waters for irrigation and other purposes, it carries very little water when it enters Balurghat. During the scorching summers, it runs totally dry. “We want the Union government to take up this matter with Bangladesh and our local MP can influence the Union government to do so only if he is part of the government,” said Majumder.

The people here also feel that their other demands, like increasing employment opportunities, setting up of agro-based industries, improving agricultural output and improving Balurghat’s poor infrastructure can only be met by the Union government.

“The people here have seen what difference it makes to have their local MP as a union minister. Malda’s MP A.B.A Ghani Khan Choudhury was the Railway Minister for a few terms and he changed the face of Malda (which is next to Balurghat). Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, who represented neighbouring Raiganj a few times and was a minister in the Union government, also did a lot for his constituency, Now, the people of Balurghat also want the same and that can explain the sudden support for the BJP,” said Nitya Gopal Sarkar, a trader.

State Projects Not Enough

The state government has, admittedly, undertaken a number of projects in Balurghat and the people here have also benefited from a number of state schemes. A new polytechnic institute has come up at Hilli, and a new college has been established at Kumarganj.

Public healthcare facilities have witnessed appreciable progress with two super-speciality hospitals coming up at Balurghat and Gangarampur, and cancer, neonatal, dialysis units and a CCU coming up at Balurghat Civil Hospital.

Kisan mandis have come up in all administrative blocks, many rural roads have been built and the existing ones improved, a textile hub has been established at Gangarampur and state schemes like Swastha Saathi (health insurance for unorganised sector workers), karma tirtha (vocational training centres) and sabuj sathi have benefitted many. At Arpita Ghosh’s personal initiative, a new ‘Natya Academy’ has been established at a cost of Rs 12 crore in Balurghat.

However, for the people of Balurghat, all that is not enough. “We want the mega projects that can only happen with the cooperation of the Union government. Since the NDA is most likely to return to power, the only way to ensure that is to vote for the BJP candidate.

Most people feel that if elected, he will me made a minister since he is educated, erudite and has an extremely clean image. He is an associate professor (of Botany) at the state-run Gour Banga University and is a good person,” said Tapan Barman, a young advocate.

People’s Voices

That the BJP has made massive inroads into even the rural and remote areas of Balurghat is quite evident from visits to such areas. In Malancha village, for instance, only BJP flags and festoons can be seen.

Montu Mahato, 45, of neighbouring Jangalpur village says, “The lotus will bloom and we will all benefit”. Shefali Mahato, 41, says that there is a palpable wind in favour of the BJP. Jatin Ekka, 50, says that electing MPs who sit in the Opposition (referring to the RSP MPs of the past and Aripta Ghosh since 2009) has not done Balurghat any good.

“It is time now to elect an MP of a party that will most likely form the next government at the Centre. That will bring us benefits. There is no point in having an MP who belongs to an Opposition party,” he says.

Haripukur is a village that lies next to the Indo-Bangladesh border. Along with its twin village on the Bangladeshi side, it straddles the international border. Haripukur, with a population of about 650 people, is an exclusively Muslim village.

While most of the people here support the Trinamool, the Trinamool workers admit that many of their village folk have veered towards the BJP and may vote for the saffron party. Noor Nabi Mandal, 21, says that people’s aspirations are rising and the youth want to see development. That can come about only if their MP belongs to the ruling party in Delhi. Abdul Sheikh, 35, says that many are shedding their antipathy towards the BJP and even joining the saffron party.