KOLKATA – The third phase of the West Bengal parliamentary elections scheduled for May 7 has an interesting aspect: the CPM has now been forced into an alliance with the Congress, once its dark enemy. With no MP from the state in the 2019 elections, the CPM is now trying to ride on Congress to open its account. The four constituencies Malda Uttar, Malda Dakshin, Janjpur and Murshidabad are considered Congress strongholds.
Another aspect of the third phase is the apparent split in the India bloc. Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, who participated in a few block meetings and claimed to have given name to the alliance, fielded selected candidates from all 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state. She blamed Congress for not being able to reach an electoral understanding.
Of the four seats, the BJP won Malda Uttar, the Congress clinched Malda Dakshin, and the Trinamool won Janjpur and Murshidabad in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The BJP launched a massive campaign not only in Malda but also in Murshidabad. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah campaigned in Malda while BJP president JP Nadda held rallies in Murshidabad. Ms Banerjee and Trinamool General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee have been campaigning extensively in the area.
South malda diseases
Trinamool candidate Shahnawaz Ali Rehan takes on BJP’s Sriopa Mitra. Born in Malda, the Trinamool candidate has a strong grip on local issues, including river erosion and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Rehan says the CAA is not only anti-Muslim but also anti-Bengali. “The BJP’s experience in Assam proves this. There is a deliberate attempt to mock Bengali identity and food habits,” says Rehan, who has been associated with anti-CAA protests over the years. The union home ministry on March 11 published rules regarding the law and the leadership criticized it. Trinamool since then.
The Malda seat has an interesting electoral contest with Trinamool Raihan, Srirupa Mitra Chowdhury representing the BJP and Congresswoman Isha Khan Chowdhury defending the seat. Chowdhury’s father, Abu Hazim Khan Chowdhury, has been representing the seat for the past five years. While the Congress won it in 2019, Trinamool swept the district in the Lok Sabha elections in 2021. While the majority of voters in the constituency are Muslims, the split in their votes may help the BJP give an additional edge over the TMC.
Rehan said the major problems facing the constituency, such as river erosion and migration, required a “radical approach.” “We have to admit that the Farqa Barrage was a wrong project. We have to accept that it was a mistake and take corrective action. Most of the responsibility for the damage lies with the Centre,” the Trinamool candidate said.
Left and right in Malda North
The constituency in the northern part of West Bengal is set to witness a three-way contest between the Congress, Left Front, BJP and TMC alliance. The constituency, once a Congress stronghold, has witnessed the emergence of the BJP and the Trinamool Congress over the past decade.
The TMC controls assembly seats in Chanchal, Harishchandrapur, Malatipur and Ratua, which are part of the Lok Sabha constituency, while the BJP has made inroads in Habipur, Jazole and Malda districts.
Despite this transformation, long-term issues such as river erosion, healthcare infrastructure and drinking water problems remain. BJP MP Khagen Murmu is being pitted against former TMC IPS officer Prasun Banerjee. Congress sent Mustafa Alam.
Incumbent BJP MP Khagen Murmu, who is confident of retaining the seat for a second term, says his efforts to address local grievances have met with resistance from the state government. He pointed to the challenges facing the implementation of central plans due to the “lack of cooperation” from the state administration.
Murmu, a former CPM MLA from Habibpur, joined the BJP in 2019. He says he faced huge resistance from the state government whenever he tried to implement any central scheme.
“I have asked the state government to send a detailed report on the project to the Center so that the river erosion can be checked. This never happened,” Murmu claimed.
Congress candidate Mustafa Alam says people are fed up with the policies of the BJP and the TMC. It questions the popular politics understanding of IPS officer-turned TMC candidate Prasun Banerjee.
Banerjee, a 2006 batch IPS officer, held several important posts, including Inspector General (IG) of Raiganj range, before voluntarily retiring to contest elections. Banerjee refused to respond to his opponents and went on to say: “I don’t want to say anything now.” “June 4th will reveal everything.”
However, party discord could spoil Trinamool’s chances, as Ghani family member and MP Mausam Noor is unhappy about not getting a ticket from the seat. Noor was elected as an MP from this seat in 2009 and 2014 on a Congress ticket, before defecting and joining the TMC.
Challenge in Murshidabad
Contesting for the Murshidabad seat will be CPM general secretary Mohammad Salim, Trinamool MP Abu Tahir Khan and BJP’s Gauri Shankar Ghosh. Although the Congress has thrown its weight behind the CPM, Congress leader Adhir Chowdhury while campaigning for the CPM is facing a tough challenge from the BJP in Murshidabad as the BJP is trying to consolidate Hindu votes here.
They took out Ram Navami processions and there were reports of violence at various places. Even Mamata in her speech at various rallies said that the BJP is inciting communal violence in Behrampur. Recently after the Ram Navami event, Adhir was sent to the hospital by BJP workers when he went there to see the injured people admitted to Behrampur Hospital. During the Ram Navami rally around 4 people were injured during a clash with BJP workers.
After visiting Shaktipur in Behrampur district where the clash took place, Chowdhury said: “I came to see the people who were injured in the clash. But BJP workers staged a protest at the hospital, claiming that Hindus were being attacked and demanded an answer from me. He added: ‘The protesters should ask whoever needs the answer.’ TMC’s Yusuf Pathan is a new candidate and it must be seen how far TMC can do in Behrampur.
Jangipur puzzle
The seat is synonymous with late President Pranab Mukherjee, who contested from the seat twice in 2004 and 2009. It was contested by Mukherjee’s son, Abhijit Mukherjee, in 2012, when Pranab Mukherjee became president.
Abhijeet contested the seat again in 2016. In 2019, the seat was won by Trinamool Congress and local businessman Khalilur Rahman. He is competing again this time. BJP’s Dhanajy Ghosh and Congress’s Murtaza Hussain are vying for the seat in a three-cornered battle.