Battle for Bengal’s walls as power of poll graffiti still unmatched

With barely two weeks left for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections, poll graffiti and wall paintings are becoming common across West Bengal, demonstrating its unmatched power to grab the attention of voters. In Siliguri, a mural by Trinamool Congress portrays a figure resembling Prime Minister Narendra Modi being cautioned by Lord Ram to maintain a safe distance and win the elections on his own merit. Hundreds of miles away in Kolkata’s Jadavpur, a graffiti by CPI(M)’s student wing SFI compares TMC to the “demon” of Sandeshkhali and BJP to a “dacoit”, urging voters to reject both. Another graffiti by CPI(M), with images of LPG cylinder, reads ‘tel theklo satake, gas gelo hazare, bhaktagan mookh kholena bazare’ (the price of oil has breached the Rs 100 mark, price of LPG has reached Rs 1,000 but supporters of BJP are silent). Graffiti – some witty, some satirical and some thought-provoking – have been an inseparable part of any election in the eastern state since 1952. According to SFI state committee member Subhajit Sarkar, such artworks portray the need to combat undemocratic forces like the BJP and the TMC. Sarkar told PTI, “Cartoons, graffiti, wall writings have been an integral part...