Bhawanipore is not just another assembly seat. It gives you a taste of everything Calcutta has to offer, from the steaks (with a beautiful fried egg on top), booze, hotels and clubs at the centre of town to the poverty of the slums here. There are high rises, recently built and buildings that go back to the British, now decaying. The area also has a significant non-Bengali population, most notably the affluent Marwari community, Punjabis, Gujratis and many immigrant workers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. According to a report in The Telegraph, these constitute over one-third of voters.
The seat, which votes on 30 April, is also Mamata Banerjee’s constituency. Unsurprisingly, the chief minister is the front-runner in this Trinamool Congress (TMC) stronghold. Till recently, such was her confidence, that she barely even campaigned here .However, last Sunday, she spent over two hours here, speaking to voters.
Clearly, the fight is on in Bhawanipore.