After carrying potato sacks, Bengal BJP candidate now paints walls for votes

As the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections draw closer, campaign styles across the state are becoming increasingly visual and activity-driven, with candidates stepping beyond speeches and rallies to connect with voters through symbolic, everyday actions.

In the latest instance from Howrah’s Udaynarayanpur constituency, BJP candidate Prabhakar Pandit was seen painting the wall of a house during a campaign visit.

The moment, captured on video, has since gone viral on social media.

Pandit was conducting door-to-door outreach in the area when he came across painters working on a residential building using bamboo scaffolding.

In a move that quickly drew attention, he climbed onto the scaffold and joined the workers, picking up a paintbrush and helping paint the wall.

Locals gathered around as the scene unfolded, with many recording the unusual campaign gesture.

This is not the first such instance involving the BJP candidate. Earlier, Pandit was seen carrying sacks of potatoes in agricultural fields in Udaynarayanpur, highlighting concerns of local farmers over falling prices and lack of adequate returns.

The constituency, known for its agricultural base, has been witnessing discontent among potato growers, an issue the candidate has attempted to foreground during his campaign.

The trend, however, is not limited to one constituency.

In April, another BJP candidate, Dr Sharadwat Mukhopadhyay from Bidhannagar, made headlines for a strikingly different campaign approach. During a neighbourhood outreach, he was seen walking through streets holding a full-grown catla fish, an iconic symbol in Bengali households.

The act quickly gained traction online, with videos of the “fish campaign” widely shared and discussed, adding to the growing list of unconventional campaign visuals this election season.

Taken together, these moments reflect a broader shift in Bengal’s political campaigning, where candidates are increasingly engaging in performative, relatable activities aimed at resonating with everyday life in the state.

However, such methods have also drawn criticism. Trinamool Congress candidate Samir Kumar Panja, Pandit’s opponent in Udaynarayanpur, dismissed the wall-painting episode as attention-seeking and questioned its relevance to governance.

He alleged that such actions were attempts to remain visible rather than address substantive local issues.

The ongoing election season has seen multiple candidates across parties adopt similar approaches, entering kitchens, engaging in manual work, and participating in the daily routines of voters, underscoring the competitive and high-visibility nature of the campaign trail in Bengal.

As the political contest intensifies, these visuals continue to dominate public discourse, even as parties sharpen their messaging on key electoral issues.