Winning hearts in Malda over sandwiches and paintings

One of those was of young Isha Khan Choudhury, son of Congress MP from Malda and brother of ABA Ghani Khan Choudhury, Abu Hasem Choudhury.

It was Isha who had prepared salmon and cheese sandwiches for the lunch his father and aunt Ruby Noor, MLA from Sujapur in Malda, hosted for Gandhi and other Congress leaders.

Gandhi, who just had the sandwiches, salads and a glass of fruit juice, told her hosts she liked the sandwich — which elated Isha, a businessman settled in Kolkata.

“I overheard it and was much delighted. In fact, all of us had prepared some dish or other for lunch. The rest, like the kebabs, were brought from outside. My uncle Abu Naser Khan made the rice salad. My aunt and my cousin also prepared dishes,” Isha told The Indian Express.

And he was thrilled when he went to Sonia and said hello to her. “I told her we had met at the state assembly halls on some occasion before UPA government came to power. She smiled and said that she had recognised me.”

The others present at the lunch included Union Minister for External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, Abu Hasem Choudhury, Ruby Noor, their sons and daughters, former WBPCC president Somen Mitra, and a couple of local leaders.

After entering the palatial building of the late leader at Kotwali at around 12-45, Gandhi went to the grave of Ghani Khan and offered prayers. She later planted a sapling of Lakshmonbhog mango, a favourite of Ghani Khan.

‘Soniaji had to leave a little bit early because there was a bad weather forecast. She also took my brother Abu Hasem to Delhi as the finance bill was supposed to be placed in Parliament tomorrow,” Ruby Noor told The Indian Express. Gandhi was also given the design and other details of the proposed Central technical university to be set up in Malda in the name of Ghani Khan.