Kolkata: The two-day polling of 23 guilds of the Tollygunge entertainment industry to elect office-bearers concluded on Sunday. Barring one guild, which had a tie in the president’s post, results for all have been declared.The new presidents of those guilds are Sujay Datta Ray for Film Editors’ Association of Eastern India; Utsav Dey for Cine Audio Workers and Camera Caretakers Association (WB); Kartik Basak for Eastern India Cine Electricians’ Guild; Tanmoy Chakraborty for Cine Art Directors’ Guild; Atanu Mondal for Eastern India Cine Still Photographers’ Association; Bimal Kumar Halder for West Bengal Film and Video Freelance Setting Workers’ Guild; Chitravanu Basu for Eastern India Cinematographers’ Association; Mankumar Das for Movie Stuntmen Association of Eastern Zone; Raju Pramanik for West Bengal Cine and Video Co-artist Union; Sangram Karmakar for Cine Carpenters Modellers Painters and Setting Workers Union (WB).“There is a tie for Cine and Video Hairstylist Association Kolkata’s president’s post between Rina Mondal and Soma Saha. A new poll to elect the president will be held on Dec 8,” said Jayanta Kundu, president of Cine Production Managers’ Association.Datta Ray praised the involvement of the govt in conducting the elections. “Mithun Chakraborty waited outside Radha Studio, where our polls were being held. This poll has been game-changer. Every protocol has been followed. I see it as a positive step for the industry,” he said.Chakraborty told the media that he had always wanted everything to be conducted in a “democratic” way. “We respect the Constitution; that is our party’s way. Besides, for 30 years in Mumbai, I was the chairman of the Mazdoor Union,” he said, saying the forthcoming EIMPA elections will also be conducted following protocol.For many technicians, polling under tight police security was a first-of-its-kind experience. Somnath Kundu, the new president of the make-up artists’ guild, said, “I was entrusted with overseeing a peaceful election for the sound department’s guild. On a film set, the sound crew always calls for ‘silence’ right before a shot. Walking through today’s polling, I noticed that same disciplined quiet during voting.” However, Partha Kar, who worked as a technician at Rupayan Colour Laboratory from 1986 to 2016 and served as a federation secretary for three decades before stepping down in 2010, questioned the validity of the polls. “According to the Trade Union Act, every guild has its own constitution and is governed by its members only. An election was held in Feb 2026. What was the need to hold another election now? We will raise this question legally. Eight of the nine technicians who have police cases against them have won this election. Some 4,326-odd technicians have not got valid voter cards. This current election is illegal,” he said.But Jayanta Kundu said, “Kar is not a valid technician now. Why is he asking such irrelevant questions?”
