The Labor Party has won the most seats in local council elections in England, Wales and Scotland. One of the winning members of this team is also a Bengali child. With this, Rohit Dasgupta got the taste of victory for the second time. He has been re-elected as councilor of the Canning Town South Ward of the London Borough of Newham. Earlier, this alumnus of Jadavpur University had won for the first time in 2016.
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After winning the election for the first time, he had to face various challenges. In the words of Rohit, a teacher at the University of Glasgow, “Kovid had a profound effect on the residents of Canning Town. On top of that, the region is home to people from the BAME (black, Asian, minority) community. Uncertainty of job on the one hand, infected helpless people on the other. They needed to be by his side. Initiatives have been taken by the council to provide food with the volunteers, to keep them informed at all times and to provide adequate services to those in need. In addition, the Tory cladding scandal has had a strong connection with the local MP to be with all the leaseholders in Canning Town who have been affected.
How difficult was the election this time? In response to a question from Anandabazar, Rohit said that this time there was an attempt to divide the campaign. Women and LGBT people were targeted from bogus accounts. Besides, Rohit said, “People of different religions and castes live in our borough. Attempts were also made to divide the religion anonymously. In the case of many candidates, such a campaign had a terrible effect. On the other hand, political credibility also came to a standstill. People all over the country have seen Boris Johnson lie. It was very difficult to get people interested in voting this time.
A year after his last victory, the mayor appointed Rohit as commissioner of social integration and equities in Newham. After snatching the victory in the face of divisive propaganda, Rohit said that the effort to keep everyone united socially will continue this time as well. The councilor is also keen to continue the trend of progressive politics in his borough.
People in Britain are currently suffering due to rising prices. Fuel prices have also risen by 70 to 80 percent. In this situation, Rohit wants to be by the side of the residents of the council. In his words, “Older people are in the most dire straits as commodity prices continue to rise.