In the rough and tumble of Assembly polls, CPI(M)’s Asim Dasgupta and Trinamool Congress’ Amit Mitra cross theoretical swords in Khardah. Earlier, they would often meet in air-conditioned conference halls buzzing with discussions on taxation and economy. These days they are more likely to run into each other in the heat and dust of Khardah, an unlikely intellectual hotspot in the rough and tumble of West Bengal Assembly polls, but studiously avoid crossing each other’s path.