Citizens' wellbeing first: CPI(M) candidate to start COVID care camp three days before polls

Putting the wellbeing of the people ahead of party and campaigning, a candidate of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) is going to launch a COVID care camp with a call to all to support the effort irrespective of whom they vote for the elections.

Tanmoy Bhattacharya (63), the candidate from North Dum Dum constituency in the north eastern fringe of Kolkata is circulating an e-poster informing the citizens of the camp.

The camp would be launched on April 19. Polling will be held in the constituency on April 22.

The poster has also said that sanitisation drive would be taken by the party in different wards of the area from April 23.

It mentions 10 phone numbers for the people to contact for information on the camp which will be inaugurated on April 19.

Bhattacharya will be present in the camp for several hours every day curtailing time from his campaign.

“We would assist anyone who might contact us to provide whatever relief an individual might need. We can help the family members of a patient procure oxygen, pulse oximeter, nebuliser, medicines etc. We would help anyone in sanitisation drive. I would be spending a few hours in the camp every day,” said Bhattacharya.

The camp is using the space in the CPI(M) party office in Rabindranagar area.

“If someone is confined and can’t go out to procure essentials, we also him/her in procuring essential commodities and other daily needs. We are asking our workers to help those in confinements, especially the elders,” said party worker Shivshankar Ghosh.

The population of the area under this constituency is about 7.5 lakh and the service is free the citizens.

The communication being circulated is in Bengali and conspicuously mentions, “Vote for whoever you want but cooperate with us for saving lives.”

On April 14, leaders of the CPI(M) voluntarily took the decision to cancel all rallies, roadshows and mass gatherings to help curb the infection from spreading in all four remaining phases of the Bengal assembly elections. The state is going through an eight-phase polling between March 27 and April 29.

The communication being circulated by Bhattacharya on social media informs the people that a major roadshow has been cancelled.

Interestingly, leaders of Congress, Indian Secular Front and other Left parties such as Revolutionary Socialist Part, Communist Party of India and Forward Bloc also signed the decision to cancel the roadshow since these parties were also supposed to participate in the roadshow.

On April 16, the Election Commission directed a partial ban on the mass gatherings, rallies, street corner meetings between 7 pm and 10 am in West Bengal.

During the lockdown last year workers of the party held COVID care camps in different areas of the state to help the people. A few cheap canteens were also launched for the poor and daily wage earners who lost their livelihood due to the lockdown.

CPI(M), which was the major constituent of the Left Front that ruled West Bengal for 34 years uninterrupted between 1977 and 2011 is fighting a battle for survival in the assembly elections. IN the 2016 assembly polls, the party won only 26 seats in a House of 294 legislators and secured less than 20% of the votes.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the party’s voteshare came down to around 6%.