UNI ELECTION SPECIALJayanta Roy ChowdhuryRaidighi/Sandeshkhali, April 17 -- : Rickshaw-vans with microphones blaring election propaganda totter down village roads with farmland on one side and Sundari and palm trees on the other with a river snaking through the greenery at a distance.
Colourfully attired women, with 'alta' (red dye) on their feet and palm, walk barefoot, excited, towards a Shiva temple at far-away Mandir Bazar, while boys and young men carrying 'baanks' (wooden poles with two water pots on either side) accompany them.
'Nil Shasti', a day of religious penance and fasting has coincided with a day packed with election rallies in the run up to the polls which will decide who will rule West Bengal.
"Sunderban is a region wher...