West Bengal's celebrity candidates struggle for accommodation

If I can make the whole Taj Mahal vanish, I can definitely conjure up a Taj hotel suite for a short stay anywhere anytime," says famous magician P C Sorcar, BJP candidate for West Bengal's Basirhat seat, with his tongue firmly in his cheek.

Sorcar's wisecrack throws a spotlight on housing problems celebrities face in remote constituencies which become their second home in their quest for membership of the country's most exclusive club – parliament.

Arranging decent accommodation in the districts for city slickers like actors and singers fielded by Mamata Banerjee who are used to high living standards, is proving to be a headache for local Trinamool Congress leaders in the run-up to the April-May general elections.

Moon Moon Sen is scouting for a cook who can rustle up Chinese and Bengali dishes in Bankura where she is pitted against CPI's Santosh Rana. Although Mamata insists that the 65-year-old former actress will win, voters are playing their cards close to their chest. Moon Moon has demanded a large, airy house in Bankura where she can stay comfortably with her two daughters, Raima and Riya, successful actresses in their own right, besides Tollywood and Bollywood VIPs she is expecing to campaign for her.

Another actress, Sandhya Sen, who is in her 70s, in the fray in Midnapore on a Trinamool ticket, has requested district party president Prodyut Ghosh to rent a house for her within walking distance of a Shiv temple. She is expected to win in a four-cornered contest, according to reports. 

Some candidates prefer the circuit house or a government inspection bungalow but others seem to need homely comforts. Security is another concern. District officials say that crowd management outside the temporary homes of stars Mamata has fielded is not going to be easy.

Magician Sorcar prefers to commute to Basirhat, roughly 65km from his Ballygunje home in south Kolkata, for campaigning accompanied by his wife and actress daughters, instead of hiring a house in his constituency. Pitted against Trinamool's Idris Ali, Sorcar's prospects are not too bright, though.