Voters polarised, TMC takes a hit

Shubhadeep Choudhary
Tribune News Service 
Kolkata, May 23

Polarisation seems to have benefited the BJP with the party putting up a stunning performance in West Bengal, especially in constituencies close to the India-Bangladesh border. The party is set to bag at least 16 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state. The TMC had won 34 seats in 2014.

Baharampur stays with Congress’s Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. The CPI(M)-led Left Front has drawn a blank. 

The sharp Hindu-Muslim polarisation, BJP’s highlighting of infiltration from across the border, its promise to come up with an Assam-like National Register for Citizens and its pledge to pass the Citizenship Amendment Bill seems to have worked in its favour. 

The saffron party has established unassailable leads in 16 constituencies and is neck and neck with the TMC on two — Barrackpore and Burdwan-Durgapur. In Malda South, BJP candidate Srirupa Mitra Chaudhury is giving a tough fight to Congress’ Abu Hashem Khan Choudhury, the brother of the late ABA Ghani Khan Choudhury. “People have a given a befitting reply to the CM for her arrogance”, claimed Dilip Ghosh, the West Bengal BJP president who won from Medinipur.

Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee said all losses were not necessarily defeats. “We will do a complete review and then share our views with you. Let the counting process be completed and VVPATS matched”, she tweeted. Trends show the TMC bagging 43 per cent of the votes, BJP 40 per cent, CPI(M) seven and the Congress five per cent.

A large number of CPI(M) supporters apparently voted for the BJP as the party seemed better placed to take on the TMC. Congress’s Deepa Dasmunshi’s ambition to become MP from her late husband PR Dasmunshi’s pocket borough Raiganj prevented a Congress -CPI(M) tie-up. Neither Deepa nor Mohammad Salim of the CPI(M), who had won the seat in 2014, could make it. The seat was won by BJP’s Debasree Chaudhuri. TMC candidate and ABA Ghani Khan Choudhury’s niece Mausam Noor was trounced by BJP’s Khagen Murmu in Malda North. At Jangipur, Congress’ Abhijit Mukherjee, the incumbent MP and son of former President Pranab Mukherjee, was relegated to the third spot. TMC’s Khalilur Rehman won this seat. In Asansol, actress Moon Moon Sen, daughter of Bengali screen legend Suchitra Sen, was defeated by BJP’s Babul Supriyo.

Switching of parties by political leaders ahead of the parliamentary polls appears not to have gone down well with the masses in West Bengal as nearly 10 out of 18 turncoats are staring at their defeat as counting draws to a close.

In Alipurduar seat in north Bengal, Dasarth Tirkey the sitting TMC MP from Alipurduar, who was once a sitting RSP MLA, is staring at his defeat. Manas Bhunia, Apurba Sarkar, Kanialal Agarwal, all former Congress MLAs, who contested from Midnapore, Baharampur and Raiganj respectively on TMC tickets are trailing.

(Inputs from agencies)