Royal challenge for Mahua as Trinamool, BJP clash in Krishnanagar, but CPI(M) can tilt scales
One of the most keenly watched contests in West Bengal in the Lok Sabha election is unfolding in Krishnanagar, which has come into the limelight for being the constituency represented by Mahua Moitra till she was expelled from Parliament.
The feisty Ms. Moitra has been elded again by the Trinamool Congress. She is pitted against the BJP’s Amrita Roy, the daughter-in-law of the erstwhile royal family of Krishnanagar, better known locally as “Rani Ma”.
The importance of the contest for the BJP can be gauged from the fact that Ms. Roy and Sandeshkhali BJP candidate Rekha Patra were the two contestants Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up when their nominations were announced.
At rst glance, this looks like a direct ght between a former MP from a party which rules the State and a rst-time contestant, who, though a political novice, boasts local connect and formidable organisational strength of the party in power at the Centre.
What actually plays out on the ground, however, is a triangular contest in which a third party — seemingly a bit player — has the capability to mash up the scene in favour of the BJP candidate. The candidate is S.M. Sadi of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) who has been elded by the CPI(M)-Congress alliance.
When they fought separately in 2019, the CPI(M) with 1.2 lakh votes and the Congress with 38,305 votes were a decisive factor, and Ms. Moitra won by a margin of 63,218 votes.
The contest is not between two parties or two candidates. It is perhaps between a party (BJP) and a candidate (Ms. Moitra).
“We as a party have to ensure that Mahua Moitra is defeated specially after the incident in Parliament,” says Sadhan Ghosh, the vice-president of the Nadia unit of the BJP.
The incident he is referring to is the expulsion of Ms. Moitra in December last year over cash-for-query allegations. Her party has ocially stood by her and termed her expulsion a political witch-hunt.
The BJP, which has been ghting tooth-and-nail in Bengal to expand its foothold, is banking on the Left alliance candidate to bail it out in this round. They are hoping Mr. Sadi takes away a chunk of the Muslim votes from the Trinamool.
“Usually, Muslims have an anity towards voting for a candidate from their own community,” says Tulika Bhattacharya, head of the women’s wing of the BJP in Nadia district.
The claim has brought some disquiet in the local Trinamool ranks.
Though none wanted to be quoted ocially, a number of local Trinamool workers The Hindu spoke with were worried that if Mr. Sadi did succeed in splitting votes, then Ms. Moitra could nish with a razor-thin victory margin or Ms. Roy could make it to the nishing line.
The Krishnanagar seat comprises seven Assembly segments out of which four have a sizeable Muslim population — Palashipara, Nakashipara, Chapra and Kaliganj.
Trinamool workers are also worried that Ms. Moitra’s style of campaigning is too individualistic. “She has her own team and informs us whenever she needs support.”
The focus of Ms. Moitra’s campaign has been on roadshows in gram panchayat areas. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee addressed a rally at Tehatta in support of Ms. Moitra on May 3.
In case of Ms. Roy, the organisation was driving a reluctant politician who in her own words “did not feel initially that politics was her cup of tea”. But “the way people in Bengal are su¡ering due to corruption and ‘cut money’ everywhere made me take up the challenge”, she told The Hindu .
The CPI(M)-Congress alliance is not mincing words while campaigning and is targeting both the Trinamool and the BJP equally.