Amidst the ongoing Vidhan Sabha polls in the State of West Bengal, audio clips of a conversation between Lutyens journalists and election strategist Prashant Kishor appeared on Twitter on Saturday (April 7). The conversation took place on the exclusive audio messaging app ClubHouse.
Several Lutyens journalists such as Sakshi Joshi, Arfa Khanum Sherwani, Rohini Singh, Swati Chaturvedi and others were part of the group. Without realising that the conversation was available for the public to listen and it was being recorded, ‘independent journalist’ Sakshi Joshi inquired about the incumbent West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee’s toilet routine to her election strategist. Joshi, who believes in speaking truth to power, seemed to be in awe of Mamata Banerjee for her ability to control her bladder.
She inquired, “I was wondering as a woman. Mamata Banerjee arrives in a helicopter, speaks on the stage for an hour, returns back to her helicopter and then lands at a different venue. Even there she speaks for an hour on the stage. When is she going to the washroom? When is she going for herself? This is my question. “
https://twitter.com/TajinderBagga/status/1380694223528194052?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw“I was thinking that we (journalists) have to (use the loo frequently) due to the excessive heat and intake of a large quantity of water. We have to go somewhere or the other. I have never seen her taking any breaks,” the Lutyens’ journalist continued. An embarrassed Prashant Kishor jokingly asked, “Am I expected to answer this also?”
Sakshi Joshi further prodded, “What is her (bathroom) schedule? How it has been made? I mean what is she doing. Wherever she goes, I have never seen her being lodged in someone else’s home. She directly comes to the venue and then goes away.” Kishor, who was expecting questions on the lines of ongoing elections in West Bengal, was caught off-guard by this question. He dodged the answer by shrewdly laughing over it.
The voting for the 4th phase of elections in West Bengal will take place on April 10 (Saturday) in the Northern districts of Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri. In the Southern region, polling will be conducted in Hooghly, Howrah, and South 24 Parganas districts. The results will be declared on May 2.