Tag: West Bengal Election 2021

  • ‘Ghar ka ladka’ Firhad Hakim locked in triangular fight in Kolkata Port

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: The stage is set for a three- cornered contest in the Kolkata Port constituency, where minority votes could be a deciding factor, among the ruling TMC’s Firhad Hakim, Awadh Kishore Gupta of the BJP and the CPI(M)-Congress-ISF combine’s Mohammed Mukhtar.

    Over 40 per cent of the 2,35,854 electorate in the constituency are Hindi-speaking minority voters, and a majority of them swear by their “ghar ka ladka” (family member) Hakim as custodian.

    The area is dotted with huge banners in favour of the city’s outgoing mayor and lifelike cutouts of him along with Trinamool Congress flags.

    “I am not an outsider here. This is my home. I come here regularly unlike other MLAs who visit their constituencies only when the elections approach. ‘Kuch bhi problem ho main hoo na. Ghumao number aur Bobby Hakim is there; Sab ke paas mera number hai (Any problem here, and I am there. Everybody has my number. I am a ring away,” Hakim, 62, told PTI.

    The two-time MLA and urban development minister, who has been campaigning in the constituency for weeks, listed 24 major developmental works, including setting up a government college for women in Ekbalpore and an English-medium school, a logistics hub at Garden Reach and facilitating vocational training for the youth.

    “Bobby bhai has done everything that others could not do for several decades. He is like a family member,” said 73-year-old Ismail Mukhtar, a resident of Ramnagar Lane Basti in Garden Reach area.

    First-time voter Ahmed Hossain from Dhankheti said Hakim is like a hero for them.

    “Basic amenities have improved a lot under his watch. We now have schools for boys and girls with good infrastructure,” Hossain said.

    The BJP’s Awadh Kishore Gupta, however, said there are issues regarding sanitation and a culture of extortion in the area is rampant.

    “What about the sanitation problem and the existing syndicate raj here. People share common bathrooms. Implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana is not seen here. Mr Hakim has totally forgotten about these issues,” Gupta, 68, told PTI.

    Sources in the saffron party said that Gupta, a businessman, was fielded as the BJP candidate for the second time from the seat following the arrest of Rakesh Singh in a narcotics case.

    In the 2016 assembly elections, Gupta had finished third from the Kolkata Port constituency with 11,700 votes, while Hakim bagged over 73,000 votes.

    Singh, who had contested on a Congress ticket and later switched over to the BJP, managed over 46,000 votes five years ago.

    The TMC had emerged victorious in the seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, too, with its candidate Mala Roy polling over 82,000 votes, followed by BJP’s Chandra Kumar Bose.

    The nominee of the CPI(M)-Congress-ISF combine, Mohammed Mukhtar, 52, exuded confidence that people of the locality are looking for a change and he was their “choice”.

    Kolkata Port goes to polls on Monday in the seventh phase.

  • Nadda hits out at Mamata for ‘skipping’ PM’s virtual meet with CMs on COVID-19 situation

    By PTI
    MANIKCHAK: BJP president J P Nadda on Sunday slammed Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her persistent attacks on the Centre over the prevailing COVID-19 situation, and sought to know why she chose to skip a virtual meeting where Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed ways to combat the disease.

    He contended that the TMC supremo’s “anxiety has grown manifold”, after having seen the support that is pouring in for the BJP, and the ruling party, for that reason, has “resorted to attacks on saffron party men”.

    Addressing a virtual meeting from Delhi in support of BJP candidate from Malda’s Manikchak seat, where polling is scheduled to be held on April 29, Nadda said, “Why didn’t you (Banerjee) attend meetings convened by the prime minister on COVID-19, is it because of your huge ego?” Modi has also accused Banerjee of not attending meetings called by the Centre on various issues, including the COVID-19 management.

    Banerjee, on the other hand, has claimed that she was not invited to a meeting chaired by the PM a few days ago to discuss modalities to tackle the pandemic.

    Nadda said that the chief minister, who also holds the health portfolio, “claimed that vaccines are not available in Bengal, having forgotten that she deprived the people of the state of many essential facilities over the last 10 years”.

    “If vaccines are not available, how are you (Banerjee) sending updates on the number of doses administered every day to the Union Health ministry?” Nadda stated.

    He further said that members of a central team sent by the Union government to West Bengal last year to review the coronavirus situation were prevented from working freely by the Banerjee-led administration.

    The BJP president hit out at the TMC dispensation, and said the party’s top leaders, fearing that they might lose elections, have “let loose goons to intimidate voters”.

    “Mamata ji claims she is the daughter of the state, but it is under her rule that Sobha Majumdar (a BJP worker’s mother) had to sacrifice her life trying to save her son from goons,” he said, referring to an incident of violence at Nimta in the northern suburbs of the metropolis.

    Asserting that the lawless in Bengal has reached its nadir under the TMC rule, Nadda alleged that the CM has stopped sending crime records of the state to NCRB to “mask the real situation”.

    Bengal tops the chart when it comes to crimes against women, including rapes, he claimed, insisting that a BJP government will ensure women’s security in the state.

    “Extortion rackets, appeasement policies and dictatorship rule the roost in Bengal under the TMC rule,” he said.

    The senior BJP leader, virtually speaking to voters in Burdwan, alleged that Bengal has turned into a backward state under the TMC dispensation “Mamata Banerjee has taken the state back 10 years during her rule,” he said.

    Addressing another virtual meeting for the electorate of Belgachia in north Kolkata, Nadda claimed that TMC workers have earned the sobriquet of “chal chor” (rice thief) during the first wave of the pandemic in 2020 for diverting free ration provided by the Centre.

    “But this time, the free ration announced by the prime minister for May and June will be distributed properly under a BJP government with a son of the soil in the chief minister’s seat,” he said.

    The BJP chief also said Banerjee insulted the culture of Bengal by hurling abuses at the prime minister, Nadda and other senior BJP leaders during her recent speeches.

  • People interested in ‘COVID ki baat’, and not ‘Mann ki baat’, says Mamata

    By PTI
    BAHRAMPUR: Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday claimed that people are no longer interested in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Maan ki baat’ programme, they, instead, want to hear ‘COVID ki baat'(COVID- related talks) as the pandemic has left lakhs gasping for breath, amid shortage of vaccines and oxygen cylinders.

    Modi, during his monthly radio broadcast ‘Mann ki baat’ earlier in the day, said that the COVID-19 “storm” has shaken the country, and urged people to get vaccinated.

    Banerjee, during a meeting with party workers at an auditorium in Murshidabad district, claimed that Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah were busy “planning ways to capture Bengal, when they should have been taking appropriate measures” to combat the second wave of the pandemic.

    “Who is interested in your ‘Mann Ki Baat’, people now want to hear ‘COVID ki baat’.

    If there is one infected person in a crowd of 1,000, he can contaminate the rest.

    Two lakh CAPF personnel came from states like UP, Delhi and Rajasthan and many of them might have been carriers of the virus without their knowledge as no RT PCR tests was conducted by the EC.

    “Around one lakh BJP cadres from other states, including ministers from saffron party-ruled states, came to Bengal for campaigning and to rig votes.

    They put up in hotels and guest houses, and must have contributed to the spike in COVID-19 cases in Bengal,” she claimed.

    Cautioning voters against possible visit of central forces accompanied by BJP men at their residences for “intimidation”, Banerjee said, “Please ask them to maintain distance as you don’t know if anyone of them is carrying the virus.

    Mothers and sisters, tell them we are not allowing outsiders inside the house.

    ” Iterating her charge that some EC special observers have planned to take TMC leaders into “preventive custody” ahead of the elections, Banerjee said, “That would be illegal detention.

    None should go to police stations on getting such calls and sit tight till the voting exercise gets over.

    No one can take your right to exercise franchise.

    ” The CM claimed on Saturday that she has come to know from WhatsApp chats between EC observers and top officials, including police superintendents and district magistrates, that intructions have been given for detainment of TMC workers ahead of the voting exercise.

    Continuing her tirade against the poll panel, she said, “Police superintendents and district magistrates have been changed arbitrarily at the last minute to help the BJP.

    “We will move the Supreme Court to ensure polls in future are conducted in a more democratic manner.

    I have already spoken to several senior lawyers.

    ” Banerjee, during her addresss, asked those present at the venue to leave the doors of the auditorium ajar for better air circulation, and said that she was “forced” to organise such meetings in enclosed spaces as EC diktats left her with no other option.

    “We had asked the poll panel to club the last few phases, but it did not pay heed.

    I know the BJP has made specific plans to rig the election in every phase.

    In the sixth phase, BJP-sheltered goons from other areas accompanied central forces to residences of our workers in Naihati, Bhatpara, Jagaddal in North 24 Parganas.

    In the next phase, they are trying to terrorise our people in Paschim Bardhaman.

    ” Wondering “why the police fall silent when EC takes charge during polls,” she asked all officers to perform their job without any biasness.

    Claiming that “cash flow from BJP camps to buy votes was comparable to water flowing from fire brigade hose pipe”, the TMC boss iterated that the saffron party-led central government should have instead borne the cost of the COVID-19 vaccines being provided to people.

    The CM further said that her government has set up 100 COVID-19 treatment units in state-aided and private hospitals across Bengal over the past one week.

    “If you (BJP leaders) have such great love for Bengal, why are you not sending us more vaccines? Why is that truckloads of vaccines are being transported to Gujarat? I have nothing against Gujarat, but what about other states? You are discriminating against Bengal and giving lectures at election meetings,” she said.

    She said Bengal, with a population of around 10 crore, has received three lakh vials so far, which could cater to just about 1.5 lakh people, as each of them need two doses.

    “We have, however, managed to vaccinate one crore people and have sought another one crore (from the Centre).

    We will provide vaccines for free from May 5 to anyone who is 18 years of age or above,” Banerjee added.

     

  • Veteran TMC leader pitted against actor-turned-BJP greenhorn in Bhabanipur

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: A seasoned actor but a greenhorn in electoral politics, Rudranil Ghosh has been fielded by the BJP from the prestigious Bhabanipur assembly constituency in south Kolkata, a seat left by Bengal Chief Minister and TMC boss Mamata Banerjee as she chose to contest the polls from Nandigram.

    The TMC chief had described the seat, of which she is the sitting MLA and a resident, as her “boro bon” (elder sister) at a poll rally in Nandigram, and reposed faith in veteran politician and state power minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay to make a hat-trick of wins for the party.

    Under the shadow of Banerjee’s influence, the assembly segment has been the stronghold of the ruling TMC since it came into being for the second time in 2011, following the delimitation exercise.

    For Chattopadhyay, who had fought assembly elections seven times and won each of the contests, the constituency is his home turf as he is a resident of the area and exercises his franchise there.

    The BJP, however, described Banerjee’s decision to leave Bhabanipur and fight against her protege-turned- adversary Suvendu Adhikari of the saffron party from Nandigram, as a “desperate move sensing imminent defeat”.

    Ghosh, who has received accolades for his performances in ‘Vinci Da’ and ‘Chaplin’, said a large section of people in Bhabanipur are non-Bengalis and may have not watched his films, but they are aware of his social work in the area.

    “Sixty per cent of the voters here may have not seen my films, but they know me for my social work. They also know that no graft charge has ever been filed against me. People in Bhabanipur have become disillusioned with Mamata Banerjee in the last couple of years. She fled to Nandigram sensing imminent defeat here,” Ghosh, who was once an aide of the TMC supremo but fell out with her two years back, told PTI.

    The constituency, which has 2,06,272 voters, is home to a sizeable number of Gujaratis, Sikhs, Biharis and Marwaris, who live alongside Bengalis.

    Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in a bid to drum up support for Ghosh, recently held a door-to-door campaign in the Bhabanipur constituency, the only such public outreach programme by the heavyweight leader in the state.

    “His (Shah’s) energy is infectious. It inspires us. It acted as a catalyst for the swelling support pouring in for me,” said Ghosh who joined the saffron party in January.

    Talking about the trolling that he had to endure on social media after switching camp, Ghosh said, “I am not affected by these jibes aimed at me, mostly by the CPI(M) and the TMC camps.”

    “The Left had not worked for the poor people who voted for it for three decades. The TMC also did precious little for the underprivileged who had elected it to power in 2011. Instead, they cheated and looted them,” he said.

    Asked if he would be able to divide time between his on-screen commitments and political responsibilities, Ghosh said, “A Bengali film’s shoot lasts for 15 days. We don’t work in more than five films in a year. That comes to 75 days. I would still have 290 days to work for people.”

    To a question about close friend and film director Raj Chakraborty, who is contesting as a TMC nominee, besides other industry colleagues such as Chiranjit and Saayoni Ghosh, the BJP candidate said, “I have nothing to comment on their individual decision, their ideology.”

    “However, I don’t know if they will take responsibility for the atrocities perpetrated by the TMC, the theft of the cyclone Amphan relief funds, the theft of ration by TMC leaders, and the patronisation of cut money (bribery) culture all these years.

    If they are contesting on TMC tickets, they must also be supporting the misdeeds of the ruling party of the state,” he said.

    He claimed that his TMC rival Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, despite being a senior politician, never protested against the wrongdoings of some TMC leaders in the area.

    Chattopadhyay, however, is absolutely confident of retaining the seat for his party.

    “I take every fight in my stride. I, as a veteran politician, know how to win a political battle. It is not a big challenge as the chief minister has already prepared the political ground here,” the 77-year-old TMC contestant said.

    The power minister, who was a state- and national- level boxing champion and has a mountaineering degree, is leaving no stone unturned to win this political game.

    Bhabanipur has never disappointed the TMC, except in 2014 general election, when the BJP managed to get a slender lead from this assembly segment — a part of Kolkata South Lok Sabha constituency.

    Banerjee’s trusted lieutenant Subrata Bakshi had won the seat in 2011, when the party fought the election in alliance with the Congress, by nearly 50,000 votes, defeating nearest rival Narayan Prasad Jain of the CPI(M).

    The BJP was nowhere in the contest, having bagged just 3.74 per cent votes.

    Within a few months, Bakshi vacated the seat to pave the way for Banerjee, who was then an MP, to get elected to the state assembly.

    The TMC chief had won the by-poll by a margin of 54,000 votes.

    The TMC boss, who is a voter of Bhabanipur constituency, also bagged the seat by over 25,000 votes in the 2016 state elections, while the Congress’ Deepa Dasmunshi came second and the BJP’s Chandrakumar Bose third.

    The ruling partys victory margin, however, fell drastically to a little more than 3,000 in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

    According to political analysts, Banerjee’s decision to fight the polls from Nandigram could be an outcome of a “political calculation” as she had alienated many constituents in Bhabanipur with her rhetoric against “outsiders” or non- Bengalis who live in the area.

    The TMC, however, has clarified on several occasions that the ‘outsider’ barb was directed at “goons who came from other states to create disturbances amid the elections”.

    Bhabanipur constituency will go to polls in the seventh phase of assembly elections on April 26.

  • Union minister Babul Supriyo tests positive for COVID for the second time

    By PTI
    Union Minister Babul Supriyo Sunday informed that he and his wife have tested positive for COVID and hence he wont be able to vote in Asansol on April 26.

    Supriyo has tested positive for the virus for the second time.

    He, however, said mentally he will be with the BJP candidates of the Asansol area and will monitor the situation from home.

    “Both me & my wife have tested positive. Me for the 2nd time!! V Sad that I won’t be able to vote in Asansol. I needed to be there on the road too for the 26th polls where ‘desperate’ @AITCofficial goons hv already unleashed their terror machinery to disrupt free & fair polls,” Supriyo tweeted.

    “However, the #TMchhi terror machinery who I hv handled (well) since 2014 may not rejoiceWil b doing my duties frm my room & b right by my candidates mentally in everyway possible to ensure 9/9 seats there,” he said in a series of tweets.

    Both me & my wife have tested positive Me for the 2nd time!!V Sad that I won’t be able to vote in Asansol. I needed to be there on the road too for the 26th Polls where ‘desperate’ @AITCofficial Goons hv already unleashed their terror machinery to disrupt free & fair polls 1/2
    — Babul Supriyo (@SuPriyoBabul) April 25, 2021

    Supriyo, a two-time MP from Asansol, is contesting assembly election from Tollygunge assembly seat where voting is over. The seventh phase of elections in 36 assembly segments in West Bengal will be held on April 26.

  • Coal belt’s Jamuria to see three-way electoral battle, with CPI(M) young face Aishe Ghosh pitted against TMC, BJP rivals 

    By PTI
    One of the last remaining Left bastions, Jamuria assembly constituency in the heart of Paschim Bardhaman’s coal belt will witness a triangular battle between CPI(M)’s young face Aishe Ghosh, JNU Students’ Union president against Trinamool’s coal miner-candidate Hareram Singh and BJP’s Tapas Roy in polling slated for Monday, April 26.

    Jamuria has till now withstood Trinamool’s onslaught in the last two assembly elections returning CPI(M)’s Jahanara Khan twice in the last two assembly elections.

    This time round the party decided to risk fielding Aishe Ghosh, a student debutante from the constituency replacing a veteran law-maker.

    Ghosh who came into the limelight during the agitation in the premier university which also threw up another Left leader Kanhaiya Kumar, the young doctoral scholar has been a prominent face in protests against the CAA and new farm laws.

    The newcomer is however not a greenhorn as far as the coal belt is concerned having been brought up in the colliery belt of the Burdwan.

    The Trinamool Congress has nominated Hareram Singh, a coal mine worker and a leader of the party’s labour wing INTTUC-approved coal mine workers association in this area.

    The TMC is betting on Singh to wrest the constituency, which has large numbers of coal miners.

    The BJP, which had a huge lead in Jamuria in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as part of the Asansol constituency, has put up Tapas Roy as its candidate and is hoping to ride on a wave to win the seat.

    Lack of safe drinking water, pollution and bad roads in this colliery belt are major problems faced in day to day life, according to locals, who also complain that though there are quite a few schools in the constituency, there is only one college catering to a large catchment area.

    “We have to depend on primary health centres in the area for medical requirements or travel to Durgapur or Asansol for treatment,” said Mukta Das, a resident of Damodarpur.

    Of the 2.22 lakh voters in Jamuria, 27 per cent are from the minority community, while around 25 per cent belong to the scheduled castes and tribes, an official said.

    CPI(M) area secretary Manoj Dutta claimed that apart from some sponge iron factories, no major industry have come up in Jamuria during TMC’s rule in the last 10 years.

    “At least two industries, including one steel factory, proposed during the Left Front government have not seen the light of the day, thus depriving local people of much needed job opportunities,” Dutta told PTI.

    Expressing confidence that the CPI(M) will hold on to the seat, he said that just as Ghosh had led the anti-fee hike protests at JNU, she will also be vocal in the assembly for overall development of Jamuria.

    Contending that the people of Jamuria had benefited from various welfare schemes taken up by chief minister Mamata Banerjee statewide, TMC candidate Singh alleged that the local populace were deprived of any development initiative by its CPI(M) representatives over the years.

    “We will wrest the seat from CPI(M) this time as the welfare schemes like `Duare Sarka’, `Kanyashree ‘have benefitted the people,” he said.

    Claiming he has received an overwhelming response from local people, BJP candidate Roy said that people have faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s development initiatives and that this will give rich dividends to the saffron party in this election.

    “People of Jamuria have seen governments of both the Left Front and the Trinamool Congress and know that neither has done anything to solve their long pending problems relating to drinking water, pollution and jobs,” Roy said.

    The BJP is also raking up coal and sand smuggling in Jamuria as major issues in this election.

    BJP leaders claim illegal coal mining from abandoned mines of Eastern Coalfields Ltd. in the area has increased in the last decade.

  • Vote for BJP to end ‘tolabaji, tushtikaran, tanashahi’ prevailing under Mamata Banerjee’s rule: Nadda

    Nadda was addressing a gathering while holding a roadshow in support of the party #39;s candidate from North Dinajpur, Krishna Kumar Kalyani.

  • Rahul Gandhi suspends all rallies in Bengal as COVID-19 situation worsens in poll-bound state

    By Online Desk
    Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday announced that he is suspending all his public rallies in West Bengal in view of the COVID-19 situation in the country. 

    The Congress leader also urged “all political leaders to think deeply about the consequences of holding large public rallies under the current circumstances.”

    In view of the Covid situation, I am suspending all my public rallies in West Bengal.I would advise all political leaders to think deeply about the consequences of holding large public rallies under the current circumstances.
    — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 18, 2021

    West Bengal is left with three more phases of its assembly election. 

    The state on Saturday registered its highest single- day spike of 7,713 coronavirus cases, taking the tally to 6,51,508, bulletin released by the state health department said.

    The death toll rose to 10,540 after 34 COVID-19 fatalities were registered in the state, it added.

    The city on Saturday also accounted for its highest one- day spike of 1,998 new cases along with 10 more casualties.

    Neighbouring North 24 Parganas registered eight deaths, Murshidabad (5), Birbhum (3) and two each in South 24 Parganas (2) and Purulia, the bulletin said.

    One death each was reported in Hooghly, Howrah, Purba Bardhaman and Jalpaiguri districts, it added.

    Out of the 34 deaths, 17 were due to the co-morbidities where COVID-19 was incidental.

    Among the fresh cases, North 24 Parganas accounted for 1,639 cases, while Howrah (432), Birbhum (406), Malda (344), Hooghly (321) and Paschim Bardhaman (310), it added.

    In the last 24 hours, 3,426 recoveries were registered in the state.

    The discharge rate slipped further to 91.43 per cent as till Saturday 5,95,668 people have been cured in the state.

    Since Friday, 45,330 samples have been tested in West Bengal taking the total number of such clinical examinations to 97,62,086.

    On Saturday, Trinamool Congress MLA from Murarai constituency in the outgoing assembly Abdur Rahman died at a city hospital, where he was undergoing treatment for COVID-19, health department officials said.

    Rahman, who was named as the candidate for the same seat by the TMC for the ongoing elections, was replaced by Dr Mosarraf Hossain after he tested positive for the contagion.

    Rahman was shifted to a private hospital after his condition deteriorated, the official said adding that the TMC leader breathed his last this morning.

    The surging coronavirus in its second wave is a cause of worry for the poll-bound Bengal.

    On Saturday, the fifth phase polling of the assembly elections were conducted in 45 constituencies with three phases remaining.

    The counting is scheduled on May 2.

    Incidentally, chief minister Mamata Banerjee had proposed to club the final three phases of the ongoing elections after the recent surge of COVID-19 cases in West Bengal, which, however, was turned down by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

    Two contesting candidates — both from West Bengal’s Murshidabad district — died due to the COVID-19.

    At least five other contesting candidates are undergoing treatment after they tested positive for the disease.

    The Congress has been critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for holding political rallies amid the rise in coronavirus cases in the country.

    Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram has accused the prime minister of shocking callousness for holding big political rallies in poll-bound Bengal amid the rise in COVID-19 cases.

    He said the prime minister should be at his job, sitting at his desk and coordinating with chief ministers in handling the COVID pandemic.

    Prime Minister Modi has been addressing public rallies in West Bengal for the eight-phase assembly elections in the state.

    India has been witnessing a massive surge in coronavirus cases.

    A record single-day rise of 2,61,500 coronavirus infections has taken the country’s total tally of COVID-19 cases to 1,47,88,109, while active cases surpassed the 18-lakh mark, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Bengal polls: Is Mamata pushing people towards anarchy, asks Shah

    By ANI
    KOLKATA: Hitting out at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her remarks on the Central Forces, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday questioned whether she was pushing people towards anarchy.

    Addressing media persons, Shah said, “When CAPF is deployed for poll duty, it does not come under the jurisdiction of the Home Ministry. It comes under the Election Commission. The frustration of TMC is very much evident from their action and speeches. I have not seen such a leader or chief minister in my life who give statements to ‘gherao CRPF’. Is she pushing the people towards anarchy? I do not understand.”

    “The way TMC has appealed to minority voters to come together and vote for the TMC indicates that their minority vote bank is also slipping away,” added Shah.

    He furthers said, “In the three phases, BJP has got unprecedented support from the people of Bengal. As per our estimation, BJP will win between 63 to 68 seats in the three phases.”

    Shah is holding a door-to-door campaign for BJP in Kolkata’s Bhowanipur today. Bhowanipur has been represented by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. However, Banerjee chose Nandigram to contest the assembly polls this year.

    Amit Shah will also hold roadshows in Madhyamgram and Jagatdal on Friday.

    The first three phases of the eight-phased West Bengal polls have already taken place. The fourth phase of the elections will be held on Saturday. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.  

  • High-stake ‘Khela’ in Bengal: Top leaders, celebrities in phase-four battleground

    By ANI
    KOLKATA: From heavyweight leaders to celebrities, stakes are high in the fourth phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections that will be held on Saturday.

    In Phase-IV, 44 constituencies from the districts of Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, Howrah, Hooghly and South 24 Parganas are going to polls. A total of 1,15,81,022 electorates will decide the fate of 373 candidates in this phase.

    Among the most high-profile contests, one is the Tollygunge constituency, where BJP has fielded Union Minister Babul Supriyo against sitting TMC MLA Aroop Biswas. Biswas, also a minister in the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal cabinet has been representing the Tollygunge Assembly constituency for the last three terms. Worth mentioning, Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan campaigned for TMC candidate Aroop Biswas. CPI(M) has fielded Debdut Ghosh from the seat.

    In Behala Paschim, it is Chatterjee versus Chatterjee. The constituency has been represented by state education minister Partha Chatterjee for 20 years. Now, to challenge Partha to enter into his fifth term, BJP has fielded actor Srabanti Chatterjee from the Behala Paschim Assembly constituency. The torchbearer of the Samyukta Morcha from this seat is CPI(M)’s Nihar Bhakta.

    On the other hand, Behala Purba has been hitting the headlines as TMC fielded Ratna Chatterjee, the estranged wife of the sitting MLA and former Kolkata Mayor Sovan Chatterjee. Sovan Chatterjee was with the TMC before joining the BJP. Notably, Sovan left BJP after he was denied the ticket from the Behala Purba this time. According to BJP, the party did not want to create controversy by fielding Sovan against his wife and had offered him the ticket from Behala Paschim. Sovan Chatterjee was also unhappy as the BJP did not give a ticket to his friend Baisakhi Banerjee. BJP has fielded actor Srabanti Chatterjee from Behala Purba.

    The Sonarpur Dakshin constituency will witness a contest between popular television personalities. Here, TMC’s Lovely Moitra will take on BJP’s Anjana Basu. Moitra and Basu both are well-known faces in Bengali soap operas. However, Shuvam Banerjee is the CPI candidate from the seat.

    In the Jadavpur constituency, TMC’s Moloy Majumder is taking on sitting CPI(M) MLA Sujan Chakraborty and BJP’s Rinku Naskar.

    In the Dinhata constituency, BJP has fielded party MP Nisith Pramanik against TMC MLA Udayan Guha and Forward Bloc’s Abdul Rauf. In the Alipurduar constituency, there is a contest among TMC’s Sourav Chakraborty, BJP’s Suman Kanjilal and Congress’ Debprosad Roy.

    BJP has fielded Prabir Ghosal in Uttarpara constituency against CPI(M)’s Rajat Banerjee. Actor Kanchan Mullick is TMC’s candidate from the seat.

    The Singur Constituency in Hooghly district is all set to witness an interesting battle between TMC’s Becharam Manna and BJP’s Rabindranath Bhattacharjee. The sitting MLA from Singur, Bhattacharjee was previously with TMC. As the party denied a ticket to the octogenarian leader this time, he joined the BJP. Srijan Bhattacharya is the CPI(M) candidate from the seat.

    In the Chunchura Assembly constituency, BJP MP Locket Chatterjee is standing against TMC’s Asit Mazumdar and Forward Bloc’s Pranab Ghosh.

    CPI(M) heavyweight Mohammed Salim is contesting from the Chanditala constituency. BJP has fielded actor Yash Dasgupta against Salim. Swati Khandoker is the TMC candidate from Chanditala.

    Abdul Mannan, the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly is contesting from the Champdani constituency. BJP has fielded Dilip Singh against the veteran Congress leader.

    In Howrah’s Domjur, BJP leader Rajib Banerjee is taking on TMC candidate Kalyan Ghosh and CPI(M) candidate Uttam Bera. Rajib, a former minister in the TMC government joined the BJP ahead of the West Bengal Assembly polls.

    In Shibpur Constituency, cricketer Manoj Tiwary is the TMC candidate against BJP’s Rathindranath Chakraborty and Forward Bloc’s Jagannath Bhattacharya. The CPI(M) has fielded Dipsita Dhar from the Bally Assembly constituency. Dhar, the joint secretary of the Students’ Federation of India is pursuing PhD in Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Dr Rana Chatterjee and Baishali Dalmiya are the TMC and BJP candidates from the Bally constituency.

    In the fourth phase, the majority of the constituencies fall under urban and semi-urban categories. Among the 44 constituencies, nine are in Howrah, 10 in Hooghly, 11 in South 24 Parganas, five in Alipurduar and nine in Cooch Behar.

    When it comes to the constituencies in Howrah and Hooghly, there will be tough combat between TMC and BJP. When TMC is reckoned on the development works, BJP is counting on the non-Bengali voters in the industrial belt.

    Since there has been visible development in these areas, the major concern among voters is the lack of employment opportunities. The closure of jute mills and an air of anti-incumbency haunt the ruling TMC. On the other hand, the after-effects of lockdown and rising fuel prices are troubling the BJP.

    In the districts of Cooch Behar and Alipurduar, the BJP has established a stronghold, especially after the 2019 Lok Sabha polls when the party won the two constituencies. Meanwhile, in South 24 Parganas, TMC has an edge over other parties.

    While the BJP is targeting TMC over the issues of corruption in Amphan relief fund, ‘syndicate raj’ and appeasement politics, TMC is banking on its welfare schemes like ‘Duare Sarkar’, ‘Swastho Sathi’ and ‘Kanyashree’ to counter the anti-incumbency wave. The CPI(M) is in the attempt to regain its old legacy that started fading away a decade back.

    The first three phases of the eight-phased West Bengal polls have already taken place. The fourth phase of the elections will be held on Saturday. Counting of the votes will take place on May 2. (ANI)