Bed Tea Vs Bedlam: The importance of being Moon Moon Sen in West Bengal today
Even as Asansol, where she's contesting from, saw a minister facing attack, Moon Moon Sen missed the news because she didn't get her bed tea on time. This is exactly why Mamata Banerjee fields her.
At a time when BJP minister Smriti Irani was seen helping Amethi villagers douse a fire, in another part of the country, a Trinamool MP said she doesn’t know anything about the Asansol violence — the Lok Sabha seat from which she is contesting — because she woke up delayed as she got her bed tea late.
WATCH | "No bed tea...": Moon Moon Sen on why she was unaware of Asansol violence https://t.co/5iUQ3UYUt5#Phase4 #LokSabhaElections2019 #ElectionsWithNDTV pic.twitter.com/Yz5ZtHw6wt
— NDTV (@ndtv) April 29, 2019
Social media exploded seeing the unbelievable sense of entitlement of a people’s representative.
But this is very characteristic of actress-turned-politician Moon Moon Sen — always and forever. And if you think Moon Moon Sen didn’t understand the ramifications of what she said while Asansol was on the boil, you are wrong — she plays her politics well as she knew her Marie Antoinette-like statement would certainly eclipse the violence Asansol was witnessing.
And it happened.
When, in 2014, Moon Moon Sen — fielded for the first time from Bankura — defeated CPM heavyweight Basudev Acharya, she was hailed as a ‘giant killer’.
But her political claim to fame is not aside from her lineage, which also ensured that she got a foreign degree (Somerville College) at a time when her mother used to create a dream-like effect in the collective consciousness of Bengalis via her roles at Suchitra Sen on Bengal's silver screens.
Well, that time has not yet passed.
And that’s why Moon Moon Sen, during campaigning in Asansol, could say, “I am Suchitra Sen’s daughter. When I come to Asansol, I feel her beside me.”
Suchitra Sen passed away in 2014.
Moon Moon apparently didn’t do much for Bankura.
But people are in absolute awe in her — her accent, her glamour, her husky voice. The very fact that she is at least getting down from her air-conditioned car and not fainting under the scorching heat seems too much for the voters; an absolute hero-worship ingrained in our psyche.
Even her rival from the constituency, Union minister Babul Supriyo had once expressed his admiration for Moon Moon Sen.
"The thing I appreciate is that Moon Moon Sen is a very educated and elegant woman, so no ill-words will be used while campaigning. As a friend, if I happen to meet her, I will have a cup of coffee with her and my party will not mind it," the minister — who was attacked today while Moon Moon Sen was apparently sleeping — said earlier.
When Sen talks about violence during CPM rule to justify what's happening in Bengal, it comes across as the best example of political whataboutery; exactly what Mamata Banerjee needs to counter the regular onslaught from Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself.
Asansol is a sticky ground for both the TMC and the BJP.
Mamata thinks Asansol will vote for Moon Moon because she is Suchitra Sen's daughter. The BJP thinks the incumbent MP and minister Babul Supriyo — one of the winning horses of the BJP in Bengal — will retain his seat.
Meanwhile, Moon Moon Sen and her bed tea steal the show!