Muslim votes vital for Mahua’s battle royale in Krishnanagar

Shubhadeep Choudhury

Krishnanagar, May 10

For a Bengali, Krishnanagar brings into mind stories of Gopal Bhand, court jester of the 18th century king Krishnachandra whose name the town carries.

Gopal has been turned into a cartoon character and countless funny stories attributed to him are serialised on Bengali TV channels. The town is right now under the spotlight for the fierce electoral contest unfolding here.

Mahua Moitra, controversially expelled from the Lok Sabha in December, is seeking re-election from the seat even as the BJP seems hell-bent on defeating her. To counter Moitra, the BJP has put up Arpita Roy, a member of the erstwhile royal family of Krishnanagar.

Roy, along with Sandeshkhali BJP candidate Rekha Patra, were the two contestants PM Narendra Modi called up when their nominations were announced.

While the fight for Krishnanagar is primarily between the two women, CPM candidate SM Sadi is set to play an important role in deciding the outcome of the contest. If Sadi could attract a sizeable number of Muslim votes, it could upset Mahua Moitra’s apple cart.

The Krishnanagar Lok Sabha constituency comprises seven Assembly segments out of which four have sizeable Muslim population, namely, Palashipara, Nakashipara, Chapra and Kaliganj.

Sadi withstood the TMC wave of 2011 and won from Palashipara segment of Krishnanagar seat.