Kolkata: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate and former Calcutta High Court judge Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay filed his nomination for the Tamluk Lok Sabha seat on Saturday. The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has fielded Debangshu Bhattacharya from the Tamluk Lok Sabha seat.
"I do not underestimate them (opposition), but I find that they are not in the ground. They are absent from the contest...," Gangopadhyay said speaking about the TMC in Tamluk. Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who stepped down as a Judge of the Calcutta High Court joined the BJP in March.
Earlier, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh lashed out at Abhijit Gangopadhyay over his remarks on Mahatma Gandhi and Nathuram Godse. "It is worse than pathetic that a judge of the Calcutta High Court, who resigned to contest the Lok Sabha polls as a BJP candidate blessed by none other than the Prime Minister, now says that he cannot choose between Gandhi and Godse," the Congress leader had slammed.
"This is totally unacceptable, and his candidature should be withdrawn forthwith by those who spare no effort to appropriate the Mahatma's legacy. What will the Father of the Do-nation do to protect the Father of the Nation?\" Jairam Ramesh had posted on X. Gangopadhyay had told a Bengali channel that he could not 'choose between Gandhi and Godse'.
The jurist-turned-politician said he must read the book written by Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse, elaborating on the reasons that provoked him to assassinate the Father of the Nation. "As someone from the legal profession, I must try and understand the other side of the story. I must read his (Nathuram Godse) writings and understand what triggered him to kill Mahatma Gandhi. Until then, I cannot choose between Gandhi and Godse," Gangopadhyay was quoted by a media channel in an interview.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, TMC's Dibyendu Adhikari defeated BJP's Sidhartha Shankar Naskar from Tamluk by a margin of 1,90,165 votes. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has traditionally held a stronghold in West Bengal. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the TMC emerged as the dominant force, securing 34 seats in the state. In contrast, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed to win only 2 seats.
The CPI (M) and the Congress won 2 and 4 seats, respectively. However, the political landscape saw a significant shift in the 2019 polls. The BJP won 18 seats, a stark contrast to their previous tally. The TMC, although still in the lead, saw their seat count reduced to 22. The Congress's representation was reduced to just 2 seats, while the Left Front was unable to secure any seats.
The shift in power dynamics has created a highly competitive political environment. The BJP party, having won the 2019 elections, is now making a concentrated effort to unseat the TMC from its stronghold and become the dominant political force in West Bengal. The upcoming elections will be a pivotal moment for both parties as they seek to demonstrate their political strength and gain the upper hand.
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