It was the perfect public relation opportunity for all political parties as they reached out to the voters through the much celebrated poet. From organising Rabindra Sammelan in various municipal wards to inauguration of a train, Tagore was remembered by all.

TRINAMOOL

There was no way that one could miss the Railway ministry’s full page advertisements in leading dailies, commemorating Tagore’s birth anniversary. Union Railway Minister and Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee flagged off Sanskriti Yatra Express marking Tagore’s birth anniversary. The specially decorated train with five air-conditioned coaches will depict the poet’s life, songs, poems, paintings, novels and essays. “The train will travel from Himachal to Kanyakumari. Incidentally, he also travelled by trains,” said Banerjee, while flagging off the special train from Howrah station. Interestingly, the train will also showcase paintings of Suvaprassana and Jogen Chatterjee, two noted painters from Bengal.

CONGRESS

The Congress organised a gala programme at Bidhan Bhawan, the state headquarters in Kolkata. They also organised various programmes in different blocks, utilising the day to reach out to its voters. “Rabindranath Tagore was our president of Pabna Congress in 1908. He is our only Nobel laureate president. We have a spiritual relationship with the poet,” said Pradip Bhattacharjee, working president of state Congress.

Left Front