February 23, 1998

S S Ahluwalia
Congress

Asansol  West Bengal
Electorate: 12.1 lakh
Main Rival: Bikash Chowdhury (CPI-M)

If the ability to speak many languages could win votes, Surinderjit Singh Ahluwalia is already the winner at Asansol in the West Bengal coal belt. The lanky Sikh, member of 10 Janpath's "shouting brigade" in the Rajya Sabha, flits from one meeting to another. He switches languages, calling Marxists names in Bengali, thundering in Hindi, and addressing tribal workers with the region's trademark nasal twang. His linguistic range was one reason why he was preferred over other local leaders; his closeness to Sonia Gandhi though was the clincher.

Though Ahluwalia constantly harps on his "roots in Asansol" -- wife Monica's sister is the sitting MLA from Asansol -- the 47-year-old politician has received a lukewarm response from the area's Congress MLAs. Worse, the workers have deserted the party almost en bloc, joining the Trinamool Congress. Ahluwalia must truck in INTUC members from collieries to fill up his rally grounds. He at least draws good crowds at factory gate meetings. "If any of my Bengali brothers have understood me, will they tell me in Bengali what I've said?" Often they do, and it becomes a language game. "Chhodo kal ki batein," blares the microphone from Ahluwalia's campaign van. He'd like to suggest that the Marxists have had their day. Maybe, but today's challenger to the CPI(M) is not his hand symbol but the Trinamool-BJP alliance.

-- Sumit Mitra

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