Baharampur: The Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) surprised many in political circles when it picked former cricketer Yusuf Pathan in the Baharampur constituency in a triangular fight against Congress stalwart Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Nirmal Kumar Saha in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Notably, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has won the Baharampur constituency five times, defeating TMC candidate Apurba Sarkar in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections. The Congress has already announced Chowdhury as its candidate from Baharampur for this year's election.
Meanwhile, the BJP has lashed out against the ruling TMC for failing to bring Bengali candidates and nominating 'outsiders' to compete in the Lok Sabha elections. Pathan's selection signifies West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's efforts to find a popular celebrity face among Muslims, as Baharampur has a Muslim-majority population.
What is special about Baharampur?
Baharampur, the administrative headquarters of Bengal's one-time capital Murshidabad district, is also the seventh largest city in the state. The constituency comprises seven assembly segments -- Burwan, Kandi, Bharatpur, Rejinagar, Beldanga, Baharampur and Naoda. It was once a stronghold of Left Front's partner Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), whose legendary leader Tridib Chaudhuri won seven consecutive terms from 1952 to 1984.
There are about 1,301,033 voters in Baharampur and about 52 per cent of the constituency's population comprises of Muslims. TMC has failed to win the Baharampur seat even once as the Congress has maintained its hold on the constituency since 1999, despite having a limited presence in West Bengal otherwise.
Though Congress managed to sneak away a victory in the 1984 polls, the Left party swiftly took it back after five years and held on to the seat for four more terms till 1999 and it has been with the Congress since then. In the last Lok Sabha elections, Chowdhury competed against Trinamool's Apurba Sarkar and BJP's Krishna Juardar Arya.
How did Congress and BJP react to Yusuf Pathan's selection?
Reacting to TMC's surprise decision, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said Pathan was selected as a candidate to polarise the common man and to help the BJP, so that Congress can be defeated and challenge the West Bengal CM to contest from the Baharampur seat herself against him.
"If TMC wanted to honour Yusuf Pathan, they should've sent him to the Rajya Sabha instead of sending 'outsiders'... If Mamata Banerjee had good intentions for Pathan, she would have asked alliance (I.N.D.I.A bloc) for a seat for him in Gujarat. But here in West Bengal, he is selected as a candidate to help the BJP, so that Congress can be defeated," he said during a press conference.
On the other hand, the BJP lashed out at the TMC for bringing people from outside. "Your inability to find suitable Bengali Candidates, indicates that people who are concerned about their political future and prospects of winning have certainly refused your offer. Hence you had to lure 'OUTSIDERS' who are unaware of the ground reality," said West Bengal's Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari.
West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar also questioned the TMC's decision to field Yusuf Pathan and Kirti Azad. "Just half an hour before the TMC's list was announced, Abhishek Banerjee was making statements like BJP is anti-Bengal. Now, when the candidates are announced, it's clear that TMC is bringing people from outside. I don't know if Kirti Azad and Yusuf Pathan are Bengali, Yusuf Pathan is from Gujarat, and so is PM Modi, but for them, PM Modi is an outsider," he said.
Mamata's nephew Abhishek announced all 42 candidates of TMC for the Lok Sabha elections, as the party decided to go solo in a big blow to the I.N.D.I.A. opposition bloc. Abhishek Banerjee will hit the electoral field and has been given a ticket from Diamond Harbour. Mahua Moitra, who was expelled from Lok Sabha, has been fielded from Krishnanagar.
The BJP has fielded Nirmal Kumar Saha to compete against Chowdhury and Pathan. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the TMC won 22 seats, while the BJP sprung a major surprise, winning 18 seats. The Congress won the remaining two seats.
Baharampur Lok Sabha seat results 2014 and 2019
- In the 2019 elections, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury won the Baharampur constituency by securing 591,106 votes. He defeated TMC candidate Apurba Sarkar with a margin of 80,696 votes. BJP's Krishna Juardar managed to secure 143,038 votes in the contest.
- In the 2014 elections, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury won the seat by securing 583,549 votes. He defeated Trinamool's Indranil Sen by a massive margin of 356,567 votes. RSP's Pramothes Mukherjee came third with 225,699 votes in the constituency.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission is expected to announce the schedule for General Elections 2024 and some State Assemblies at 3 pm tomorrow (i.e.) Saturday, March 16.
(with ANI inputs)
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