Mahua Moitra & Her White Sleeves

Sporting beautiful cotton sarees, the TMC firebrand is known to opt for traditional sarees, but what has been striking this election are the white full-sleeved blouses she has worn every rally.

Lok Sabha MP, Mahua Moitra who for the longest time was known for her fiery speeches in the Parliament and more recently, was in the news for the messy alleged cash-for-query case, is back on the election trail to campaign for the Krishnanagar seat - the seat which she won back in 2019.

Sporting beautiful cotton sarees, the TMC firebrand is known to opt for traditional sarees, weaved exclusively in her Lok Sabha constituency as a way of honoring the people she represents. But what has been striking this election campaign are the white full-sleeved blouses she has worn for every rally.

Politicians in India tend to wear white a lot. It’s a form of visual communication, to convey to the people that they are virtuous and have a good, morally upright character. For female politicians, it’s either white sarees or regionally specific traditional sarees. Indira Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee and Sushma Swaraj are some of the prime politicians that come to mind when talking about sarees and politicians. The outfit of choice strongly connects them to the Indian heritage, makes them come across as sanskari and a woman of honour. Wearing jeans is an absolute no-go in visual politician language. Even in 2024, jeans symbolizes the West and all the “immorality” that comes with it.

Some of the women politicians who have recently joined politics are starting to change this strict uniform by migrating to wearing suits, like Atishi or women like Mayawati and Harsimrat Kaur Badal who have worn suits their entire career speaking to the demographic they have always campaigned towards.

Moitra’s style strategy as a politician seem to be a mix of it all. It is at once relatable and aspirational. It speaks to her demographic but doesn’t stay confined there, and presents a dream of going further in life. To the urban population, she comes across as an educated, independent single woman, in touch with her roots, living successfully in a patriarchal society. She presents a possibility and also a fast-becoming reality (according to the 2011 Census, there are 71.4 million single women in India - a number larger than the entire populations of Britain or France).

Currently, for the 2024 election campaign, Moitra has once again opted for a saree, but this time went with light summery cotton sarees - with the pallu over her head - to battle the summer heat of West Bengal. Her one constant throughout her changing sarees has been her white blouse, that seems to have been taken from the white politician uniform. Full-sleeved, to again battle the heat, her white blouses bring a sense of practicality and commonality to her appearance, something that doesn’t come across in her Parliament sightings. She looks anything but common there. At the Parliament, her sarees act as a sort of armor when she’s calling out the central government for it’s fascist tendencies.

At the election rallies though, the alleged cash-for-query case seems to be a forgotten matter. When The Indian Express asked her if she thinks the case will have an impact on her campaign, she said, “Rubbish! You’ve seen my area. Does anyone even realise I’ve been expelled or suspended? Nobody cares.” There’s a sense of mild arrogance in that answer, but I guess, one needs to be a little arrogant to be a politician. Regardless of the self-confidence that answer may project, Mahua Moitra’s efforts to present a honest version of herself seems to be in full swing and this time, her armor seems to be her white sleeves.