If Mathura has its Dream Girl, Hooghly in West Bengal has its ‘Meme Girl’ this election. Actor, television anchor and one-time Miss Beautiful Smile winner Rachana Banerjee is the Trinamool Congress candidate. The incumbent MP there is another actor — Locket Chatterjee of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
On paper, Rachana had sounded like an excellent choice. She was the host of a hugely popular reality show called Didi No. 1 , a game show targeting women.
Many of her guests come from smaller towns outside Kolkata and have inspiring stories — the woman who carried gas cylinders on her back delivering them house to house or the woman who was abandoned by her husband but is now a successful entrepreneur. Rachana has a genuine rapport with them, a 1,000-watt smile and an easy laugh. Like a good politician, Rachana could mix with all kinds of people.
But on the campaign trail, Rachana has become the face that launched a 1,000 memes. After having doi / yoghurt in Singur, Rachana said the doi was so good because the milk was excellent. The milk was excellent because the cows ate only the best grass.
The grass was so green because the soil was superb. The irony is Singur is where the Tatas had tried to set up a factory on what had been farmland, an issue that helped propel Mamata Banerjee to victory in 2011. Now the farmers have gotten their land back but they complain the soil is no longer as fertile.
Many say the government has forgotten them. Rachana’s opponent Locket Chatter.