From Kathak to polls: Prez’s daughter Sharmishtha woos Delhi's Bengali disapora

New Delhi: But for her biggest calling card, her father President Pranab Mukherjee, Sharmishtha Mukherjee would have continued to focus only on Kathak. Perhaps, it was destined that she would be in politics, like his brother Abhijit, and in the Congress where her father spent almost a lifetime. A late entrant into politics, she has already found herself a role. Besides wanting to be the legislator from the Greater Kailash assembly constituency she wants to be the representative of the strong Probashi Bangali (non-resident Bengalis) community, whose biggest concentration is in Chittaranjan Park.[caption id=“attachment_2083423” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Sharmistha Mukherjee. Image courtesy CNN-IBN[/caption] Riding on Bengali pride and cultural heritage, Mukherjee, is appealing to the hard-to-please Bengali voters of CR Park in their language, Bangla. The community has had no one representing them in the assemply for a long time. The accomplished Kathak dancer is contesting against the incumbent MLA and former minister Saurabh Bhardwaj of the Aam Aadmi Party and BJP’s ex-councillor Rakesh Gullaiya. But, what makes her take the risk of contesting from the Congress, at a time when the party is facing imminent extinction in the national capital. “Though I’ve joined Congress in last June, I’m not new to politics. I grew up in a politically charged atmosphere,” said Mukherjee. Besides her father, one of the most important Congress leaders and a key Cabinet minister in the UPA governments before he became the President of India, her brother Abhijit Mukherjee is a Congress MP too. A resident of GK II, Mukherjee is banking on the voters of CR Park that is home to more than 30,000 Bengalis. Her first public rally in the Market No 1 of CR Park – known for variety of fish, Bengali sweets and snacks – saw a large turnout of the curious residents. Flanked by top Congress leaders from West Bengal – Manas Bhuiyan, Deepa Dasmunshi and Pradip Bhattacharya, she tried to connect with the fellow Bengalis in Bangla over ‘Singara aar Chaa’ (samosa and tea), served liberally on 3 February evening. The venue – parking lot of the market was decked up with Congress flags and festoons, with a stage for the leaders to address the audience. In a bid to win over the Bengalis of CR Park, Mukherjee and other leaders talked on the issue of EPDP (East-Pakistan Displaced Persons)—the original residents of this locality, nostalgia of Bengali culture and the beauty of communicating in Bangla with non-resident Bengalis. Predictably, Mukherjee indulged in rhetoric, slamming the BJP and the AAP, which is the only staple of the Congress leaders in election speeches this time. “Since, I’m a resident of GK, I’m well aware of the problems of this area, whether it’s poor parking facility or congested roads,” she mentioned. To lend support to Mukherjee, her old time friend Sushmita, daughter of another Congress veteran leader and former cabinet minister Santosh Mohan Deb, has jumped into the fray. Both Pranab Mukherjee and Santosh Mohan Deb hit a rapport some three decades ago and their friendship continues till date. Sushmita too was found moving in CR Park market requesting people to vote ‘Sharmistha Di’. She recalled how Pranab Mukherjee, campaigned for her, when she became a candidate for Vidhan Sabha poll in 2011 from Silchar (Assam) and had asked the voters to vote his “younger daughter Sushmita”. But it’s a tough road ahead for Mukherjee as not only the non-resident Bengalis don’t make up a big chunk of the electorate, they also harbor indignation against her father. Said a shopkeeper at Market No. 1, on condition of anonymity: “Pranab Mukherjee did nothing for the Bengalis even when he was a powerful cabinet minister. For instance, he refused to recommend jobless Bengali youth for daily wage employment when he was approached in 1980s.”