Trinamool struggles to keep game on in Birbhum in absence of strongman who popularised  Khela Hobe

The arrest of Anubrata Mondal has made the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hopeful in the district.

The blue two-storied house in the heart of Bolpur town, the epicentre of all political activity in the district till eight months back, wears a deserted look. A few policemen still guard the house which has a small nameplate with several names including that of Anubrata Mondal.

Last August, the Trinamool Congress strongman Anubrata Mondal was arrested for his alleged involvement in the cattle smuggling scam. He is now lodged at Delhi’s Tihar Jail. On April 26, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested his daughter Sukanya Mondal in connection with the cattle smuggling scam on allegations of money laundering. She remains in ED custody in Delhi.

The fact that the police are providing security to a house in which no one lives, highlights the political significance of the house.

Even after an eight-month absence, Anubrata Mondal is central to the politics of the district. He remains the Birbhum district president of the party and in his absence, the party has set up a nine-member committee for organisational work. In March, party chairperson Mamata Banerjee took charge of the party organisation in the district.

The Bolpur party office, about hundred metres from Mr. Mondal’s residence, greets visitors with a single billboard with photographs of both Mamata Banerjee and Anubrata Mondal. There are photographs of the arrested Trinamool leader everywhere in the party office— Anubrata addressing a public gathering; Anubrata and Mamata Banerjee together in another frame. There are two such photographs of Anubrata Mondal on the staircase and four inside a room on the first floor.

On a Friday afternoon, none of the senior party leaders is present in the party office; only a handful of workers mill around the entrance of the party office, keeping a note of visitors in a register.

The arrest of Anubrata Mondal has made the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hopeful in the district. Union Home Minister launched the campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha poll from Birbhum on April 14 when he set a target of 35 of 42 seats for his party.