Many ‘rootless candidates’ have been fielded and Mamata Banerjee’s name alone may not be enough to guarantee a win for her party.
Mamata Banerjee striding along a ramp at the “Jana Garjan Sabha” (People’s Roar) rally at Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Ground followed by the Trinamool Congress’ Lok Sabha candidates, while the party faithful crowded around is one of the striking images of this year’s Lok Sabha elections. As Trinamool Congress (TMC) general secretary Abhishek Banerjee announced the names, the chosen ones came and joined their supreme leader on the ramp. This was the first time that the party announced its candidates for all 42 Lok Sabha seats from a public meeting in one go. While the aim was to put up a united cohesive front to enthuse party members, what it did instead was lay bare the battles within and portend the rocky path ahead for the party.
In a surprise move, in that list of 42, the party fielded former cricketer Yusuf Pathan from Berhampore against Congress veteran Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and brought in 26 new faces to contest in the elections.
The development of 10 March put an end to all speculation over the tempestuous TMC supremo yielding any ground on her home turf to the prospective partners of the nebulous I.N.D.I.A., a so-called grand alliance of anti-BJP parties, of which she had been one of the most vocal proponents.
Besides TMC old-timers, the list includes leaders and MLAs from the Left Front and the Congress who had switched over to her party in the last few years. Rachana Banerjee, known for hosting a popular Bengali television show, has been fielded from the Hooghly Lok Sabha seat where TMC’s Ratna De Nag was defeated by the BJP’s Locket Chatterjee in 2019 Parliamentary elections. Kirti Azad, former Indian cricketer, has been fielded from Burdwan-Durgapur constituency, a seat where the BJP defeated the TMC in the 2019 elections.
Meanwhile, in Jadavpur Lok Sabha seat, where the sitting celebrity TMC MP Mimi Chakraborty recently handed in her resignation citing lack of interest in politics, party’s youth wing (TMYC) president and actress Saayoni Ghosh has been fielded.
The party dropped its other actress MP Nusrat Jahan, who represented the Basirhat Lok Sabha seat. Sources said that following the Sandeshkhali issue, the party did not take any chances as she was rarely visible in her constituency or in Parliament. Instead, Haji Nurul Islam has been nominated as the candidate. The party is also fielding Debangshu Bhattacharya, TMC’s IT-cell head, from Tamluk where the BJP may field the newly inducted former High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay.
Further, TMC gave tickets to all four politicians who switched camps from the BJP. Biswajit Das is being fielded from Bongaon, Mukut Mani Adhikari from Ranaghat (SC), Biplab Mitra (State Cabinet Minister of Consumer Affairs) from Balurghat and Krishna Kalyani from Raiganj.
The party also fielded Sujata Mondal in Bishnupur (SC) against the sitting BJP MP of the constituency, Saumitra Khan, who had filed for divorce after his wife Sujata had joined the Trinamool.
Meanwhile, the party also gave tickets to its sitting senior MPs Sougata Roy from Dum Dum constituency and Sudip Bandopadhyay from Kolkata (North). Amidst demands to clear his party loyalty, no ticket was given to Sisir Adhikari from Contai and instead, Uttam Barik was fielded. State Cabinet Minister Partha Bhowmick was given a ticket from Barrackpore seat, ending speculation that Arjun Singh may be fielded from the seat. As promised, Mahua Moitra, who was stripped of her Lok Sabha membership, was given a ticket from Krishnanagar.
“Our list comprises both old and new, experienced and greenhorns. Today, we have announced our list for 2024 Lok Sabha candidates for Bengal. I am all the more happy and proud because almost 50% of our candidates are women. Trinamool’s list speaks for itself. Unity in diversity,” Banerjee had said.
The dropping of sitting lawmakers and nominating people like Pathan, Kirti Azad and actress Rachana Banerjee is being seen as an attempt to stem the infighting in the party. However, a bigger test awaits Mamata Banerjee.
While veteran leaders like Tapas Roy joined the BJP, Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh, passed over in favour of State Irrigation Minister Partha Bhowmick, followed Roy into the BJP, alleging that Mamata Banerjee had insulted him by reneging on her promise to give him a ticket.
“I was informed at the last moment that I wouldn’t be receiving a ticket for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Had I known earlier, I wouldn’t have attended the party’s Brigade Parade Ground rally. When I joined the TMC, I was promised a ticket from Barrackpore. I feel betrayed. I am not someone who changes loyalties easily. I am dedicated and work tirelessly year-round,” complained Singh.
Mamata Banerjee has often fielded celebrity candidates to ensure that all opposing factions bury their differences and unitedly work for the official candidate. But this year, fears of factionalism are doing the rounds. Senior Trinamool Congress leaders told The Sunday Guardian that Mamata Banerjee’s statement at the Jana Garjan Rally that “we will accommodate those who could not get tickets in the Assembly elections, or with party posts,” was meant to placate irate leaders so that they did not work to defeat the party’s official candidates.
In private conversations, TMC seniors say that from north to south Bengal, many leaders like Arjun Singh, Tapas Roy and Humayun Kabir, who have a mass base, may upset the apple cart considering that so many “rootless candidates” have been fielded and Mamata’s name may not be able to guarantee a win, given the allegations of corruption against the party and its leaders. “Sandeshkhali too might be a factor, though we are trying to counteract it by telling women voters about all the benefits that Didi (Mamata Banerjee) is giving to the womenfolk through schemes like Lakshmir Bhandar,” they said.
BJP sources told The Sunday Guardian: “Disgruntled leaders are always a threat to the official candidates in any election. Our leader Suvendu Adhikari knows the Trinamool’s grassroots leaders. In fact, he was the one who groomed many such leaders when he was with Mamata. He is in touch. Don’t be surprised if we win more than the target of 25 seats that Amit Shah has set.”