Meet next-gen CPM leader Pratikur taking on Abhishek Banerjee

WITH THE Indian Secular Front (ISF) deciding to go it alone in the Lok Sabha polls, the CPI(M) that was struggling to arrive at a consensus on the high-profile Diamond Harbour seat has picked one of its promising youth leaders to take on Trinamool Congress (TMC) number two and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee, the incumbent MP.

Pratikur Rahaman, the Cpi(m)’ s pick, is a local. at present, the 33- year-old is a member of the Cpi(m) state committee and is the national vice-president of the Students’ federation of india( sfi ), the party’s student wing. Rahaman, who studied at the Fakir Chand College in Diamond Harbour, lives on the outskirts of Diamond Harbour with his parents, brothers, wife and daughter. His family, according to party insiders, runs a construction material supply business.

“I am not fighting against any individual. My fight is against the policies of the TMC and BJP,” Rahaman told The Indian Express after his candidature was announced.

The CPI(M) initially adopted a wait-and-watch approach for Diamond Harbour as it expected ISF leader Naushad Siddiqui to enter the fray. It had also assured him of full support but with the ISF snapping ties, the Leftcongress combine was forced to look within its ranks for a candidate to take on Banerjee. The ISF has so far declared candidates for

14 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state, fielding Majnu Laskar from the constituency.

“It would have been better if Naushad contested from here as the people were expecting him. But there is no problem as people are now saying, you fight, we will support you.” Rahaman said.

The Left Front, Congress, and ISF, which contested the 2021 Assembly polls together, failed to resolve their differences. The Left was not ready to agree to the ISF’S demand of eight seats while negotiations between the Congress and the Left Front hit a hurdle over Coochbehar and Purulia.

Terming the TMC’S “Diamond Harbour model” as a bluff, Rahaman accused the TMC and BJP of being anti-farmer. “The prices of fertilisers are increasing while the farmers are getting poorer. We are against this policy,” the CPI(M) candidate said.

This will not be Rahaman’s first time in the poll fray. In 2021, he contested from Diamond Harbour, finishing third after Pannalal Halder of the TMC and Deepak Halder of the BJP.

“I got associated with the SFI in 2011 following which I have been assaulted by TMC goons many times. They cannot stop me with violence. I will fight back hard,” Rahaman said.

Pratikur Rahaman is a member of the CPI(M) state committee