KOLKATA: Voting for four Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal’s constituencies of Malda Uttar, Malda Dakshin, Jangipur and Murshidabad will be held in the third phase on 7 May, Tuesday. Out of the four constituencies, the BJP had won Malda Uttar, the Congress had wrested Malda Dakshin and the Trinamool Congress had won Jangipur and Murshidabad in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
This time round, these constituencies have thrown up interesting battles.
The region has a distinct geography and demography, and the issues are constituency-specific. Both Malda and Murshidabad districts have a significant minority population and the Trinamool, the Left and the Congress leadership want to win the support of the Muslim community. The BJP is hoping that a split in the Muslim vote and a polarisation of voters will help the party.
The region is one of the economically most backward areas of the state, with lakhs of youth migrating in search of work. While men move to states in the South and in the North for higher wages, women roll beedis to add to their income.
The districts have also borne the brunt of river erosion that has left thousands of people homeless, with the state losing about 200 square kilometres of land in the past several decades. Like in previous elections, politicians both in power at the Centre and in the state are giving assurances to the migrants and to the people affected by river erosion that they will take concrete steps after the election.
A key issue that has dominated the election campaign is the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The Trinamool leadership, including the Chief Minister, has been highlighting that CAA and the Rules notified in March are a precursor to the National Register of Citizens and are aimed at sending “Muslims to camps”.
While the region was considered a Congress bastion, the Trinamool swept the Assembly elections in 2021 on the issue of CAA-NRC. The Left-Congress leadership claims that the “CAA is an attempt to create a political binary of BJP-TMC” and will not have an impact on the electorate of the region in the Lok Sabha election.
This time, the BJP has launched a high-pitched campaign not only in Malda but also in Murshidabad district.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have campaigned in Malda, while BJP president J.P. Nadda has held rallies in Murshidabad. Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool general secretary Abhishek Banerjee are campaigning extensively in the region.
The Malda Uttar and Malda Dakshin constituencies are in Malda district, historically known as the bastion of Congress’ iconic leader A.B.A. Ghani Khan Choudhury. The influence of the former Railway Minister and Congress stalwart still reigns supreme in the twin Malda seats years after his death. Even today votes are fetched in his name by his family members.
But the glory of the past has started fading. In this minority-dominated district, like the river, politics too has changed its course.
MALDA UTTAR
In the fray in Malda Uttar is incumbent BJP parliamentarian Khagen Murmu, who had won the 2019 Lok Sabha elections on a BJP ticket after switching sides from the CPM. Here, Trinamool has given the ticket to former IPS officer Prasun Banerjee, while Congress has fielded Mostaque Alam.
Although it will be a tough fight for Murmu this time, as was the case in the 2021 Assembly polls, out of the seven Assembly seats, Trinamool is likely to get a lead in four where it has its MLAs, while three are with BJP MLAs—all reserved seats—Malda (SC), Gajole (SC) and Habibpur (ST). In such a scenario, it could be tough for the BJP to retain the seat, especially as it will see strong opposition from the Trinamool Congress.
However, factionalism could mar Trinamool’s chances, as Ghani family member and parliamentarian Mausam Benazir Noor is unhappy about not being given a ticket from the seat.
Noor was elected MP from this seat in 2009 and 2014 on a Congress ticket, before she defected to the Trinamool. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Noor was defeated because of a division of votes, which was the result of a contest between two Ghani family members—Noor on a Trinamool ticket and Isha Khan Chaudhury on a Congress ticket. Murmu won with a margin of about 84,000 votes.
MALDA DAKSHIN
Malda Dakshin (South) will witness a three-cornered fight between A.B.A. Ghani Khan Choudhury’s kin and incumbent parliamentarian Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury’s son Isha Khan Choudhury, BJP’s Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhury and Trinamool’s Shahnawaz Ali Raihan. The constituency will see a tough fight from BJP’s Englishbazar MLA Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhury, well-known locally by her moniker Nirbhoy Didi, who is fighting the seat for the second time.
In 2019, she was defeated by only 8,000 votes. The Trinamool has fielded Shahnawaz Ali Raihan, an NRI researcher who has lived and worked in London.
Malda Dakshin was won by Ghani Khan’s brother Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury or Dalu Da in 2019. He has now handed over the mantle to his son Isha Khan Choudhury, the Congress candidate from the constituency.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury (Dalu) garnered 444,270 votes, closely followed by BJP’s Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhury with 436,048 votes. Trinamool’s candidate Md. Moazzem Hossain secured the third position with 351,353 votes. Notably, Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury (Dalu) had won from the South Malda constituency in 2014 and 2009.
BJP’s Chaudhury is expected to put up a tough fight. She is running a powerful and innovative campaign centred on a medley of Narendra Modi’s digital dreams, witnessed by all in big screens across the constituency with digital seminars of Modi 3.0, local issues and cultural essence, including Baul (local minstrel’s) songs, instead of typical political attacks.
She is riding her campaign on an ensemble of Bengal’s culture and Digital India. Sreerupa said on her X handle, “Modi 3.0, a popular digital seminar, is a bumper hit at Malda Dakshin Lok Sabha kendra! Young and old are enjoying Modi’s digital Bharat.”
Even Home Minister Amit Shah during his roadshow at Englishbazar, urged voters to help Sreerupa win with a huge margin as a penalty of defeating her with such a small margin in the last election. Even PM Modi came to address a rally on Friday.
MURSHIDABAD
The minority-dominated Murshidabad seat will be contested by CPI-M general secretary Mohd Salim, Trinamool’s sitting MP Abu Taher Khan and BJP’s Gouri Shankar Ghosh.
The seat was with the CPI-M from 1980 to 1999. In 2004 and 2009, it was won by the Congress, but in 2014 it went to CPI-M’s Baddruddoza Khan. In 2019, Abu Taher Khan won the seat on a Trinamool ticket. He is re-contesting this time.
In the 2021 Assembly polls, under the Murshidabad Lok Sabha constituency, there were seven Assembly segments—Lalgola, Bhagabangola, Murshidabad, Jalangi, Domkal, Hariharpara, Karimpur.
Of these, only one in the Murshidabad Assembly segment was won by the BJP, while the rest are with Trinamool MLAs and, thus, they are seen getting substantial lead in all these Assembly segments.
JANGIPUR
Jangipur Lok Sabha seat is synonymous with late President Pranab Mukherjee, who contested the seat twice in 2004 and 2009. The same seat was contested by Mukherjee’s son, Abhijit Mukherjee in 2012, when Pranab Mukherjee became President. Abhijit Mukherjee again contested the seat in 2016.
In 2019, the seat was won by TMC candidate and local businessman Khallilur Rahman. Khallilur Rahman is a beedi baron in a place where lakhs of women are engaged in beedi rolling, while the menfolk work outside Bengal as migrant labour. Khallilur Rahman has an honest image and even his opponents say he funds his political activities with his own money.
He is re-contesting this time. BJP’s Dhananjay Ghosh and Congress’ Md. Mortazza Hossain are contesting the seat in the three-cornered fight. Md. Mortazza Hossain is the grandson of late Congress leader Abu Hena.