A scary taxi ride to Bengal's notorious Bhangar, where MLA Nawsad Siddique is loved beyond faith | Ground report

IWas trinity failed attempts shoot down and almost near to apply up on reservation a taxi for West Bengal's notorious constituency of Bhangar when a fourth agreed to take me there, only to reveal later that he too is a fan of the MLA — Nawsad Siddique — whose outfit Indian Secular Front (ISF) was the only opposition party except the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to win a seat in the 2021 state assembly elections.The three cab drivers first accepted the booking then cancelled after hearing the destination, forcing me to wonder if it was Bhangar constituency's notorious reputation that made them do so.For Raju Ghosh, the cabbie who agreed to go there, my trip's purpose of meeting Nawsad Siddique that he overheard in a phone conversation of mine, turned out to be a fanboy moment. It was then an exciting drive for him and an impatient (little scary as well) ride for me to Bhangar - the seat where Mamata Banerjee's TMC has faced challenges in maintaining its grip over the party's stronghold of South 24 Parganas district. Raju Ghosh, the cab driver, told me that Nawsad Siddique was among the very few Muslim leaders whose fanbase included Hindus as well because he openly challenged Mamata Banerjee - who had to order eight additional police stations in Bhangar to have the area under her control, according to Dr Abdul Matin, a political science professor at Jadavpur University in Kolkata who has followed the MLA closely over several years.The constituency is infamous for political violence and turf war not just during the elections but throughout the year.Of the total 294 assembly seats in West Bengal, 293 were won by the TMC-plus and the BJP in the 2021 assembly elections. It was just Bhangar which surprised many, breaking the TMC-BJP streak, and going in Nawsad Siddique-led ISF's kitty. Bhangar is going to polls in the second and the final phase of Bengal assembly election voting on April 29.Nawsad Siddique, whose fanbase includes HindusFurfura Sharif's 'Pirzada' Nawsad Siddique, who is all of 33, leads a relatively young ISF party that has fielded candidates in over 33 seats this election in an alliance with the Left Front."He is among the very few Muslim leaders who openly challenges Mamata Banerjee on key issues… he is loved by many Hindus as well," Raju Ghosh told me.Born on May 2, 1993, Siddique hails from a prominent religious lineage, being the great-grandson of Mohammad Abu Bakr Siddique, a Bengali Islamic scholar who was the 'Pir' (title for a Sufi spiritual guide) in West Bengal's Furfura Sharif.Siddique's father Ali Akbar Siddiqui was the son of Pir Zulfiqar Ali, popularly known as "Chhoto Huzur" of Furfura Sharif, an influential and popular Sufi shrine located in the district of Hooghly in West Bengal.“Pir Maulana Shah Sufi Abu Bakr Siddique , popularly known as Dadahuzur (1845-1939) was the founder of Furfura Sharif Sufi Silsila (tradition). This shrine has millions of disciples and followers across West Bengal, Assam and the neighbouring Bangladesh. Pir Abu Bakr Siddique was also a great socio-religious reformer of late nineteenth and early twentieth century Bengal. He played a phenomenal role in the field of education, spiritually and shaping of vernacular Bengali Muslim identity. The Furfura Sharif has deeply embedded Pir-Mureedi networks among Bengali Muslims and hence they enjoy massive influence among their mureeds (disciples),” Dr Matin told hindustantimes.com.What Nawsad Siddique said on key issuesWaving to the crowd from the sunroof of a Thar amid heavy security, Nawsad Siddique entered a rally in style in the interiors of Bhangar's Raghunathpur earlier this month and spoke to hindustantimes.com.He said Mamata Banerjee has aged, it is time she hands over the responsibility of Bengal with us to take the state ahead. "Education system is in shambles, farmers… their monthly is behind… midday meals… corruption is everywhere… leave things on us now and go," Siddique said. On the cleanup of voter list under Special Intensive Revision (SIR) carried out by the Election Commission of India in West Bengal, Siddique said names of non-Muslims have also been deleted, however, Muslims have suffered the most. "Twenty-seven lakh names have been deleted, of them 17 lakh are Muslims and 10 are non-Muslim," Siddique said, adding that BJP will benefit the most of it, while TMC "will try to seek votes by creating fear around it".Speaking on the mood of the people, Siddique said the atmosphere is of stopping the BJP, defeating the TMC and bringing the alternate - Left Front, ISF.How ISF grew and the Saokat Molla challengeIt was Nawsad Siddique's brother, Abbas Siddiqui, who founded the Indian Secular Front in 2021 and appointed him as the chairman. Ahead of the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, the ISF joined hands with the Congress and the Left Front to form the Sanjukta Morcha alliance.In the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, Nawsad Siddique contested from Bhangar as a candidate of the Rashtriya Secular Majlis Party and emerged victorious. Bhangar, along with Canning Purba constituency, is a litmus test for the ISF in its bid to emerge as an alternative force among Muslim voters.“In the last five years ISF could establish themselves an alternative political force specially among the poor Bengali Muslims and they are posing a serious threat to TMC in the districts of South and North 24 Parganas… the ruling TMC government put Nawsad Siddique and his party workers behind the jail for 42 days in 2023. The TMC government has also built eight police stations within the Bhangar assembly constituency…,” Dr Matin said.On behalf of the TMC, Canning Purba MLA Saokat Molla who has been fielded this time from Bhangar to take on Nawsad Siddique and his influence. TMC supremo recently termed Molla as her "right-hand" while addressing a poll meeting in Bhangar.Claiming that a conspiracy had been hatched to kill Saokat, the chief minister said that if necessary, she would withdraw her security officers and give them to the TMC's Bhangar candidate to ensure his safety.Saokat, however, has sounded confident of winning from Bhangar, stating that the TMC government's development and welfare schemes will ensure the ISF's defeat.For Canning Purba, TMC has fielded Md Baharul Islam to fight against main rival ISF's Arabul Islam.As the Phase 2 voting of Bengal election nears, all eyes remain on Bhangar and neighbouring Canning Purba, the constituencies offering a rare political outlier in a state largely dominated by the TMC-BJP binary.