‘Committed to doing both, being an MP and hosting Didi No 1’

KOLKATA: When Rachana Banerjee’s name was announced for Trinamool Congress’ (TMC) Hooghly seat in the Lok Sabha elections 2024, she expressed her trust in ‘Didi’ Mamata Banerjee’s leadership. And when she defeated BJP’s Locket Chatterjee by a margin of 76,853 votes, that trust remained strong. Although new to politics, Rachana followed the guidance of Mamata and Abhishek Banerjee.

After her victory, when Millennium Post contacted her, she was tired but grateful. “Didi trusted me with this seat. She believed I could win Hooghly for TMC. I’m glad I could keep her trust,” Rachana said.

While she is thrilled about winning her debut election, she’s even more excited about TMC’s “unbelievable” success in winning 29 seats in the Lok Sabha elections 2024. “I’m happy with my win, but I’m really excited about how well TMC did,” she said. Rachana started her career in beauty pageants and then worked in Bengali (nearly 30 films with Prosenjit Chatterjee), Odia, South Indian and Bollywood films (Sooryavansham). But she’s best known as the host of the popular Bengali reality show ‘Didi No 1,’ which has become synonymous with her name. As fans wonder if being an MP will mean she has to leave the show, Rachana has a clear answer.

“Balancing both roles will be challenging, but I’m committed to doing both — being an MP and hosting ‘Didi No 1’,” she said with a smile. Even during the hectic election campaigning, Rachana never missed a day of shooting for the reality show. Since Rachana began her election campaign in Hooghly, she’s become a favourite subject for meme makers. Everything from her ‘smoke’ comment to her laugh has gone viral and she’s grateful to them for making her more popular. When asked about her first priority for Hooghly, she mentioned that she plans to meet with the Chief Minister and other party members soon to discuss their plans of action. “The people of Hooghly have shown me so much love. I know I have to work hard to repay that love,” said Rachana, who would meet the CM along with the newly-elected TMC MPs on Saturday.

All the celebrity candidates from TMC, including Rachana, Dev, June Maliah, Saayoni Ghosh, Shatrughan Sinha, Yusuf Pathan, Kirti Azad and Satabdi Roy, have won. This success challenges the notion that celebrity candidates face criticism in elections. Rachana believes that their victory reflects the trust people have in celebrity candidates and their ability to work.

“All the TMC celebrity candidates have won, proving that celebrities work, or else they wouldn’t have been elected,” she said. Meanwhile, the actress is eagerly anticipating her first visit as a parliamentarian. “It’s a new role, and I’m looking forward to it. All I know is that I will have to work for the people of Hooghly,” said Rachana, who plans to rent a house in her constituency to facilitate her work as an MP.