A TRUE CONGRESSMAN

One-man army redefines loyalty to Congress

COOCH BEHAR, March 27: As the Lok Sabha election closes by, Mr Kanta Shah started his voluntary drive again in support of the Congress. Since the Congress entered into an alliance with the Trinamul Congress and expressed its support to the Trinamul candidate, Mr Shah is also campaigning for that candidate.

A young man of 51-year, Mr Kanta Shah is a loyal and devoted man. He is a one-man army of his kind. He is a staunch supporter of the Congress and calls himself as a Sevak (servant) of the party. The self-appointed Sevak never fails to campaign in favour of the Congress. A few months ago he attended the Panchayati Raj conference organised by the Congress in Siliguri where state Congress president Mr Pranab Mukherjee was present. As usual, he went there riding his bicycle.

Mr Shah is a resident of Palashbari Road at Ward Number 20 in Cooch Behar town. A father of four daughters and three sons he maintains his family by his business of fish trading. He married off his two daughters. Two of his sons help him in running his business.

"Since the days of my grandfather, all our family members are Sevaks of the Congress. I can't resist myself from doing campaign for the Congress. Soon after the declaration of the Lok Sabha election I started campaigning for the Congress-Trinamul candidate", Mr Shah said.

As a small trader he have to keep himself busy round the year but he never fails to attend programmes of the Congress. Prior to any election he appoints himself as a diligent worker of the party and takes up dawn-to-dusk campaigning for the Congress candidates. He always carries a tricolour party flag on his bicycle. Before any election he adds a few more flags on his bicycle. This time he added flags of the Trinamul Congress too on his bicycle as the two parties reached to an alliance. To make the candidate a winner he started his electioneering since 20 March.

Mr Shah starts his day at 5 a.m. He takes with him five pieces of homemade 'roti', a little pickle and a bottle of drinking water as the fuel for the day. On his self-declared mission he already toured bordering areas like Changrabandha and Mekhliganj. He also covered Baxirhat adjacent to Assam-Bengal border. He declared that he would go to all the sub-divisions in the district to campaign for the Congress supported candidate.