Will Moon Moon Sen Repeat Her Bankura Magic In Asansol?

Moon Moon Sen was a household name in West Bengal much before she entered politics in 2014. In the last general election, she defeated CPI(M)’s Basudeb Acharia from the Bankura Lok Sabha constituency, considered to be a Left stronghold. Acharia had been a nine-time MP from the seat. This time, Sen is taking on BJP’s Babul Supriyo, the incumbent MP in Asansol, who had won by 70,000 votes in 2014.

NDTV quoted Sen as saying she was surprised when she was told she would be contesting from Asansol, which is still reeling from the aftermath of riots which broke out after a Ram Navami procession last year. “I had no idea... It depended on confidence in me... My name was not on any list. Until she (Mamata Banerjee) herself came and said Asansol, and I was surprised. I thought I would be working in Bankura.” However, the report says that her reputation as an MP was hit because of absence from and lack of work in the constituency.

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Sen’s campaign in the 2019 Lok Sabha Election has been filled with gaffes. The Telegraph reported that in a bid to win the love of Hindu voters at a gathering at Dharmarajtala in Andal, Sen played with a langur, which led to her rivals alleging she had violated the Wildlife Protection Act. The Statesman quoted her as saying in March, “Those Biharis who used to work as informers of Kolkata Police had good reputation. Earlier, they were seen wearing dhotis and kurtas, sitting on police jeeps, but these scenes go missing now. As a result, police officials face problems.” She has also been using photos of her long-dead mother and legendary actor Suchitra Sen in her campaign posters.