18 houses blazed together, husband’s bicycle only option to commute: Bengal MLA Kalita Maji on TMC poll violence

West Bengal MLA Kalita Maji, a woman politican who comes from the remote Ausgram village in Bardhaman, located almost 45 kilometers from the main town, has risen all her way up from the grassroots to be the Minister of State of the Housing department in the Suvendu Adhikari cabinet.

In an exclusive conversation with The Statesman, Maji broke down the fear that had gripped her consitutency when she lost her seat to Trinamool Congress in 2021.

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“As many as eighteen houses were set on fire at the same time by Trinamool-backed miscreants at Kankura village block 2. In Premganj women were raped. This was at 3 pm on May 3, after the West Bengal assembly election results were announced. Many people were beaten, forced to flee their homes, and had their properties vandalised,” the MLA from Ausgram, a reserved constituency for Scheduled Caste in the Purba Bardhaman district, said.

Narrating a snippet from her personal life during those attrocities, Maji said, “At that time, I did not own a car. I travelled on my husband’s bicycle. We would tell each other – If we die, we will die together. Even Toto (e-rickshaw) drivers were afraid to give me a ride because they feared they would be attacked.”

Maji described that only two of her associates and her family came to her support at that time.

“Many party workers were also too frightened to come out. At that time, only my two associates, Pradip Tiwari and Chandradeep Patra, along with my family, were with me,” she said.

When questioned if the police authorities were contacted at that time, Maji said that it would have made no sense since the entire administrative machinery was tightly controlled by the Trinamool Congress, which was at the help at that time.

“The Assembly was under their (TMC) control. The police administration was under their control. The police minister belonged to their side. Why would they listen to us? They would not even hear our complaints, register our cases, or even allow us into the police station. In such a situation, what would be the point of filing complaints?” she reasoned.

Speaking about her firm determination to come back to power when she lost her seat to the Trinamool Congress in the 2021 assembly elections, Maji said, “the defeat strengthened my resolve,” and she never gave up.

“I became even more determined to win the assembly seat because I could not accept the injustices and violence that I witnessed firsthand,” she detailed.