Pay! Not In Cash, But In Vote
Trinamool Congress's Birbhum candidate, who is also the sitting MP from that area in Bengal, is Satabdi Roy. One of the glaring examples of Mamata's penchant for bringing stars and starlets, both current and yesteryear's into her fold, Roy figures in this week's column for her unique campaign speech. Standing on stage, microphone in hand, she pointed to herself and addressed the gathering (in Bengali and with a condescending tone you associate with politically-incorrect people speaking to morons) thus: "You see me? Usually you pay money to see me? Don't you? You have to buy tickets to see me when you go to watch my movies and my plays? Don't you? But today you are seeing me free? Aren't you? Here I am standing in front of you not asking for any money? Am I not? Am I asking you for any money? No, right? What am I asking for then? I am asking for your vote. Yes, that's right. When you pay me, you get to watch me on the stage and on screen. But when you see me free…you pay with your vote!" It is not clear whether the crowd – smattering of it – was brought there with the promise of a free lunch but clearly there is no such thing as a free lunch!
Magic Minister
Magician, P.C. Sorcar, the BJP candidate from the Bengal's Barasat district, found himself under attack by rival and fellow-contestant from the Trinamool Congress, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, who questioned his credentials to contest the elections. Saying that those like Sorcar maybe good at performing various tricks and disappearing acts on stage but in the political arena such people from the entertainment world lacked expertise. Sorcar hit back saying he will show the people of Bengal that he is as much a magician in the real world as he is in the fantasy world by magically making problems disappear. But his real defense should have been to attack his rival by pointing out that more than half of her own party's candidates belong to the very world of entertainment from where he hails.
Musically Apt
Two famous Bengali songs are being used – mostly by political rivals – to describe the Anna no-show at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan.