Polls are over!!

The evenings of our benign bhadrolok in Bengal have suddenly become hollow. It’s a feeling of emptiness where the mind keeps on looking what it should be occupied with, but does not find a thing.

Yes, it is the post-poll depression that has struck our bhadroloks.

Didi has staked her claim on Writer’s Building as everybody anticipated. But the two month long anticipation was nothing less than a frenzied preparation for something grand. Our own Durga Puja preparations wouldn’t come a second close to it.
It was a gala time for the media. Hundreds of news channels popping out of nowhere like mushrooms in marsh land earned their bread and butter covering the run up to elections. Each of them had their own set of intellectuals and analysts justifying what should happen and predicting what would happen. (Easy availability of self proclaimed intellectuals did help the media though)

Bhadroloks taking the humble suburban train to Howrah for ‘office’ would discuss endlessly and with gusto why Left should go and why Didi deserves a chance. The staunchest Left supporter, which is rare breed now, would listen to the repetitions of Didi’s tirade and with disdain would say “eta ke? ei pagla mohila ke chief ministar kora jae?” (Who is she? Can this mad woman be made the Chief Minister?). The road side Pan Shop would become a debate arena where everybody would put forth their points even if there is nobody opposing one another. How can one keep on repeating the same arguments day after day is remarkable though. The media came to their rescue frequently with some allegations or the other to discuss with. The spices added were helping to keep the momentum going.

Then the polls were over and with nail-biting anticipation people waited for Friday the 13th. People counted down days and then hours for the counting to begin. They all were awake at 7 ’O clock in the morning with a cup of black tea and Anondobazar Potrika (local newspaper) in their hand. Soon results started to pour in and by 11 ‘O clock expectations and anticipations became reality and Bengal decisively changed their colour from Red to Green. The Leftist were left to gasp with their score not even in three digits. And when one-by-one, the party stalwarts began to crumble, they had no air left to gasp with. They were all dead and buried.

Finally what our bhodroloks predicted did happen. The Left citadel did get demolish. Bengal now is to have her first woman Chief Minister.

But, the bigger question is what next? What will occupy the fertile minds of our bhodrolok? The media is not as spicy. The allegations are not as stinging. All over it is not the same as it was few days back. People go to their ‘office’ with one thing to say ‘bolechilam, Didi jitbe’ (said so, Didi would win). But how many times and to how many people can one say that? So, people are back to their routine life. The same 9 to 5 job and the ever-so-humble macher jhol-bhat (fish curry and rice). The gala festival is over and just like one feels after bisorjon of Maa Durga, there is a feeling of emptiness with nothing in the near future to occupy the minds of people so that they can forget their mundane routine and indulge into some anticipation.

There is so much to look forward to in the new government, but nothing can match the frenzy, the year long build up to this mega event which just went by.