With four phases of polling over in West Bengal, all eyes are now on the Bhowanipore constituency of south Kolkata where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is the candidate.
For the Trinamool Congress chief, it is a battle for survival and she is leaving no stone unturned. If the emphatic victory of 2011 revolved around the 'Maa, Mati, Maanush' plank, it is just about holding the fort in 2016. The stakes as well as the challenges are high in the wake of big-ticket corruption in the state, law-and -order breakdown and unemployment.
What makes it crucial for the West Bengal Chief Minister is a three-cornered contest in her constituency, with Chandra Bose of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Deepa Dasmunsi of the Congress pitted against her.
However, Trinamool Congress leaders and workers believe that her contenders don't stand a chance, and the reason behind their confidence is the fact that Mamata bagged an impressive 78% of the total votes in 2011.
"Mamatadi and our Trinamool Congress will win a comfortable majority in Bengal. And in Bhowanipore, BJP and Congress will be far behind slugging it out for the second spot," said TMC spokesperson Derek O'Brien.
TMC may have already declared victory, but it certainly won't be a walkover for Mamata. Her first challenger is BJP's Chandra Kumar Bose. Though a greenhorn in politics, he has Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose's legacy and has run a successful campaign for de-classification of the Netaji files.
"Mamata Banerjee has created a façade. She is certainly a mass leader. But unfortunately, the commitment that she had made during the 2011 elections which brought her to power, she has miserably failed to keep them. She's not a person for governance," said Bose.
Meanwhile, the real fight appears to be between the two ladies - Mamata and Deepa Dasmunsi. Armed with the backing of Left Parties, Deepa is ready to stage an upset.
"We saw in the Narada sting operation well known faces, Trinamool leaders taking bribes. We take tea and biscuits every morning. And the TMC leaders take bribes," said Deepa.
By posting high profile candidates like Deepa Dasmunsi and Chandra Bose against Mamata Banerjee in Bhowanipore, the opposition parties have made it clear that they are not ready to give the Trinamool supremo a walkover in these elections. The battle is clearly one of perception, with a confident Trinamool Congress feeling that the impact from slur campaigns is only temporary.
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