Exactly sixteen days later, when Kaurav was having lunch at Bangabhavan in Delhi, the ruling party of the state was announcing its candidate list for the Lok Sabha elections in a press conference. On a certain prominent news channel, which claims to stay ahead and keep others ahead, Kaurav saw the name Aparna Ghosh as a candidate for a specific constituency in North Bengal—a candidate of the Chief Minister’s inner circle.
Incidentally, Kaurav had already learned this news from Ronida the previous night on a bus to Mysore. Among those present at that lunch, two individuals would later officially engage in politics under the ruling party, though they denied it initially.
When Subrata Bose, the then Minister of Education for West Bengal, suggested joining Aparna Ghosh’s campaign in her constituency, everyone agreed. By then, another superstar from Bengali cinema had been announced as a candidate for a South Bengal constituency, which left Ronida visibly perturbed. Rumors suggested that tensions between the Chief Minister and her right-hand man had begun, and this decision was seen as a veiled message. The superstar, reportedly reluctant about entering politics, could not outright refuse due to the Chief Minister’s insistence.
Whatever the case, the egos of everyone at the table were pricked—just as they had been seven years earlier when the then Opposition Leader first met with activists from the land movement. Ronida and Kaurav had come to Delhi to see Meta. However, the other four members of the group had a different agenda: establishing a Delhi chapter of West Bengal’s newly formed theater union. Ronida, the union’s vice-president, had not been informed of this.
After hanging up the call, Kaurav immediately remembered the time when, after his first stage performance, he returned with Aparna Ghosh in a car that bore the red sticker reading Government of West Bengal. Aparna had showered him with praise for his performance that day. Later, he even went to her for elocution lessons. However, following this phone call, those relationships started to feel increasingly distant to him. Ronida also began to distance himself after learning about the Delhi matter.
Recognizing the drift, Subrata Bose, once a close friend, forced Ronida to step down from all committees, which caused an uproar. The press and media covered the incident extensively. Kaurav heard from Siddharthada, the trip manager and a veteran actor, that the party’s supreme leader eventually brought the two former friends together to resolve their differences. Ronida was even offered a ticket for the next state assembly elections. However, the announcement of candidates for the assembly elections was yet to happen. When Kaurav himself asked Ronida about this incident, Ronida replied with his signature candor:
“I’ll become a candidate the day Rahulda becomes the Chief Minister.”
Disclaimer
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. The views and opinions expressed in this novel are those of the characters and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any agency, organization, or entity. Reader discretion is advised.