Short Story: Mid-term Fortunes by Paromita Goswami

Paromita Goswami’s short story is a brilliant take on Indian politics, elections, and how leaders take charge of situations to make the most of them.

The emergency imposed by the National Leader was lifted nearly two years after it was imposed, and the country breathed again. Immediately thereafter the general elections were announced. For the twenty-year-old Ranjan, these were heady days. Poorna Kranti Dal was part of the national coalition that had fought against the emergency and presently their popularity was at a height. Ranjan was the president of the youth wing in Dongargaon Township and a member of the district team that spearheaded the campaign. Sujan Patil was their candidate against the Old Party’s sitting member Manikram Pawar. Ranjan was given the responsibility of the campaign in Dongargaon Township and Mahadev Nagar areas. These were thickly populated areas, adjacent to each other and key to winning the constituency.