In the midst of the electoral buzz in West Bengal’s South Maldaha, a compelling three-way contest is on the horizon for May 7. At the forefront is BJP's Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhury, a sitting MLA from English Bazar, which comes under Maldaha South. BJP has fielded Chaudhury against TMC's Shahnawaz Ali Rehan, an educationist renowned for his activism, and Congress's scion, Isha Khan Choudhury, representing a longstanding political legacy left behind by Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury. Sreerupa Chaudhury is running a different campaign highlighting the cultural aspect of Bengali culture. Instead of the conventional saffron of the party, her campaign was marked by pink hues- from her own vehicle to hoardings, and even her election vehicles were all in pink. “Pink is the colour of women, and I am known for my fight for women empowerment,” said Sreerupa Chaudhury as News The Truth caught up with her at a roadside street corner in Maldaha’s English Bazar last Thursday.

The street corner instead of the usual political speeches, Chaudhury had arranged for Baul Sangeet. The singer had even composed a special election song titled “Tomar Sathe Sobai Ache Nirbhaya Didi” (The people stand in support of Nirbhaya didi.) "It's all about bringing culture back into politics. The political discourse in Bengal has been polluted by bad words, abuses, fights, and bloodshed. Elections are the cornerstone of democracy, and it's essential to uphold their decorum," remarked Chaudhury, as the crowd was enthralled by one song after another. Cutting through the musical ambiance, Chaudhury even tried connecting with the people gathered and other passersby.

Who is Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhury aka Nirbhaya Didi?

BJP's Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhury, fondly known as Nirbhaya Didi, has made women's empowerment the cornerstone of her campaign. A former journalist, she has been a staunch advocate for women's rights and social justice. Chaudhury earned the "Nirbhaya Didi" moniker for championing the cause of rape victims' rehabilitation and advocating for women's rights. She chaired the special task force on rape, trafficking, and violence against women established by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh following the 2012 Delhi gang rape. "As I say to people, we have to respect women, we have to love the girl child and protect her. That is what Nirbhaya Didi's lifelong struggle is based on and I have spent almost 35 years fighting for the rights of women," she said, cementing her commitment towards the upliftment of the women folk of her constituency.

In the 2014 general elections, Chaudhury contested from the South Delhi Lok Sabha seat as a candidate of the All India Trinamool Congress, securing 803 votes. However, she transitioned seamlessly, representing the BJP and amplifying her advocacy for women's rights and empowerment on a larger platform. She contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from the Maldaha Dakshin seat, narrowly losing to Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury.

In the 2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly elections, Chaudhury contested as a Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from English Bazar and emerged victorious, defeating her nearest rival from TMC.

“I feel BJP as a party has always known how to respect women,” said Nirbhaya Didi, stating that the saffron party has always created for “safe space” for women. “Now we also have the Naari Shakti Adhiniyam Act. 33% of seats have now been reserved for women. It has been passed, and will be implemented soon,” she said. However, when asked about BJP fielding only 16% female candidates in the General elections, she said,” Well, the implementation is yet to happen, it was only passed towards the end of the last Parliament Session.”

Although South Maldaha has traditionally been a Congress stronghold, many say that the absence of Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury from the poll race has only made the three-way fight much more interesting. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election campaign and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have both respectively campaigned for Chaudhury indicating the party's strategic focus on the constituency.

A constituency with over 50% minority vote share, Chaudhury cited reasons one after another claiming acceptance of BJP in minority pockets. “This time, the minority youth and women will vote in huge numbers for me,” said Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhury. She also thanked Prime Minister Modi for fielding Rekha Patra one of the Sandeshkhali complainants from the Basirhat constituency. “We were very thrilled when we saw Rekha Patra, a survivor of Sandeshkhali contesting the elections from the Basirhat Constituency. I think that is a message of women empowerment that we are giving out to the public,” she said.

Even though her election campaign s riding on the cause of women empowerment, when asked about the cause of Bilkis Bano she said, “Right now we are in the middle of an election campaign…This is a larger woman’s issue, gender issue that we can discuss about after the election is over. I can talk for hundreds of hours about the Bilkis case, but I would ask you to excuse me for the moment.”