A TALE OF TWO WOMEN MLAs.
SARASIJ MAJUMDER
Kalita Maji:
Kalita Maji’s story is transformation of a Domestic Maid Servant to an MLA (2026) under BJP’s Patronage in West Bengal. She may have fought this election as the poorest candidate.
She started her political journey by becoming a BJP member, and a dedicated BJP worker for over 11 years, starting as a Booth-Level worker in 2014 Parliament Election. Thus, she has been active in politics over a decade.
Profession: Before her victory in election, she worked as a domestic helper in multiple households. Until her election victory, she earned between ₹2,500 to ₹4,000 per month by working in four different households in her locality.
Family: She is 38 years old and married to Subrata Maji, who is a daily Labourer and Plumber. They have a son, Partha, who is presently a student, will be appearing Higher Secondary Examination. Both, husband and son helped her in campaign, whenever they could find time.
Education: Her official educational qualification is listed as “Literate”. It is learned that she got married early—and became mother. She is trying her best to get educated enough to do her daily work.
Support: Her employers facilitated her campaign by allowing her to enjoy some paid leaves. Even encouraged her to concentrate more on campaign.
She used to work in the morning and campaigned in the noon. Local Party organization supported her all along.
She contested the assembly election in 2021 as well as in 2026 from the Ausgram (SC) constituency, in Purba Bardhaman district.
Personal Assets: According to her 2026 election affidavit, she declared total assets of approximately ₹4.9 lakhs in Bank and zero liabilities. She declared owning no jewelry, no vehicle, and no luxury items like a refrigerator or television in her home.
Political Carrer: She won the 2026 election securing 1,07,692 votes, defeating the nearest rival Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate, Shyama Prasanna Lohar, by a margin of 12,535 votes. She previously contested from the same constituency in 2021 but lost by approximately 11,000 votes to winning TMC candidate but secured 41% votes.
Never the less, in spite of defeat, she continued. The voters of Ausgram’s tribal belt had spent five years watching Kalita stay, not disappear after her loss, not tried to find a more comfortable berth, not convert her miss into leverage for something else. She had stayed, and they rewarded staying with her.
The party’s decision to re-field her in 2026 can be seen as a commitment to grassroot leadership.
And She won this time.
Significance: Maji’s rise is frequently cited alongside other grassroot BJP candidates in Bengal, from Marginal Segment such as Chandana Bauri, and Rekha Patro.
Focas Areas: Her campaign focused on basic necessities such as clean drinking water, healthcare, and educational infrastructure, issues she personally experienced as a “daughter of the soil”.
CHANDANA BAURI:
Chandana was born around 1990 into a Bauri family in Shaltora’s forested interior. The Bauri community is the largest Scheduled Caste (SC) group in Bankura district, nearly ten per cent of its population, and also among the poorest. I have been to Shaltora, when I stayed in Durgapur, working in DSP.
The family lived in a small, mud-walled house in Kelai village in the Bankura district of West Bengal. Her father died two days before her Class 10 examinations. She continued studying after marrying in her early teens and cleared Class 11, but had to stop in Class 12 when her first daughter arrived.
She used to collect fallen leaves of Shal tree, stich them into a a Plate, and sell them in the market in young days.
Chandana had been working as a BJP Karyakarta since 2014, on a bicycle, going door to door, building the local organization from the base level. She became a Gram Panchayat leader before the 2018 Panchayat polls and joined the Bankura district committee in 2019.
Until 2020, the family had no toilet. She walked miles to fetch drinking water. When money was short, which was most of the time, she worked alongside her husband Sraban at construction sites, carrying earth, doing whatever needed doing. Sraban worked as a Mason in construction sites.
Struggle: Before becoming an MLA, she managed her household on a meager income, living with limited resources.
Political Career: She served as the general secretary of the Mahila Morcha in her village, conducting door-to-door membership drives for the BJP. She was selected as the BJP candidate for the Shaltora (SC) constituency in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, and contested bravely.
ASSETS: In 2021, her assets were declared at filing were ₹ 62,296/-, three goats, three cows, and a hut. One of the cows had been a wedding gift from her parents.
The Victory: Chandana won, defeating TMC heavyweight Santosh Mondal by 4,145 votes, in spite of having significantly fewer financial resources.
As an MLA: Upon her victory, she stated her focus was on serving the people of her constituency and improving conditions for the poor.
Key Points about her 2021 Win: She was nicknamed a “giant killer” in media reports for defeating the sitting Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate. Her campaign was widely highlighted as a triumph of a “common woman” over established political money power. The BJP showcased her win as a symbol of the party’s commitment to facilitating leadership opportunities to common, hard-working citizens from Marginal Community.
Working as an opposition MLA in a district where every institution from the panchayat to the block administration to the zila parishad answers only to the TMC was very difficult. It is fighting for the right to serve.
Funds she recommended for her constituency sat in files. Projects were stalled. Central security personnel were posted to her after credible threats from local cadres. They slept in her bamboo-and-tarpaulin home, and she cooked for them.
When a local party worker, Subhadeep Mishra, was found hanging from a tree with his hands tied behind his back, (A MURDER) she lay down in front of the police vehicle to prevent the body from being moved before proper documentation and was charged for obstructing duty.
Renominated in 2026, Chandana Bauri retained the Shaltora assembly seat by winning with a bigger margin of 32,135 votes, according to the list published by Election Commission of India. She secured a total of 115,180 votes, defeating her nearest rival, Uttam Bauri of the TMC.
Where TMC nominates the Tollywood beauties, BJP nominates ‘GRASSROOT workers’ from Marginal Communality, and they win Assembly elections.
Last in the list is Rekha Patro, from ‘Sandeshkhali’—but, that will be a separate ‘BLOG’ Watson.
Disclaimer: This is neither a Political, nor a Commercial Post.
SORCES: Informations are collected from Newspapers, and available scattered in ‘PUBLIC DOMAINS’. Image is from ‘GOOGLE’.
