Kolkata: Birbhum Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal, known to be a bastion of Trinamool Congress for decades, is likely to witness an intense battle between sitting MP Satabdi Roy, who is a Tollywood actress-turned-politician, and BJP's 'dark horse' Debtanu Bhattacharya.
Bhattacharya, though not entirely new in state's politics, has emerged as a surprise pick for the saffron party after the nomination of the BJP's Birbhum Lok Sabha candidate Debasish Dhar, a former IPS, was cancelled during the scrutiny of nomination papers on technical grounds. Birbhum goes to polls on Monday, May 13, in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha election.
While the Trinamool Congress (TMC) put up a brave front despite projecting the victory of sitting MP Roy, the infighting within its ranks might play a spanner in the ruling party’s ambition, according to sources.
In archetypal Bengal politics, infighting is not new, as the BJP also is facing the same in Birbhum. For TMC, the absence of its Bahubali Anubrata Mondal who is known to be the party's 'Man Friday' in the constituency, has become too conspicuous. A close confidante of CM Mamata Banerjee, Mondal was arrested by the CBI in 2022, and named in its fourth chargesheet filed on October 7, 2022, in connection with cases of cattle smuggling. According to the CBI, Mondal has links to 168 land and property deals executed in or after 2014.
What nobody saw coming was Dhar’s nomination being cancelled due to the non-submission of a ‘no dues’ certificate. A ‘no dues’ certificate is issued to certify that a government employee does not owe any dues to the state.
As a back-up, the BJP kept Debtanu Bhattacharya, a former leader of a social organisation and in-charge of Rarh region in the state, from the seat ready instead. Incidentally, a few days before Dhar’s nomination was rejected, Mamata had held a rally in Birbhum where she had charged Dhar calling him a 'murderer'. “The BJP fielded the murderer of Sitalkuchi from Birbhum but my government did not give him a clean chit.” Bengal CM referred to a poll violence in Cooch Behar's Sitalkuchi where violence took place and Dhar was a police official. Dhar had later approached the Supreme Court to challenge the cancellation but the top court had refused to entertain his plea.
Infighting a spanner
Amid apprehension among BJP that change of candidate can mar the BJP's prospect, Bhattacharya said, “I am BJP's face from Birbhum and people will vote for the party which fielded me from the seat.” Birbhum has traditionally been a TMC stronghold. Apart from the Birbhum Lok Sabha seat, the party also holds six out of the seven assembly constituencies in Birbhum district. The lone assembly seat in the district with a BJP MLA is Dubrajpur.
After the arrest of Anubrata in the cattle smuggling case, infighting has turned ugly for the party, according to leaders. The party is yet to find a replacement for Mondal.
In January, Banerjee had to remove a few leaders from TMC’s district core committee. Satabdi Roy, who has been an MP from Birbhum since 2009, also admitted infighting is a problem that every party faces. According to her, every party faces inner squabbles but during the election all TMC men will fight for Mamata Banerjee. She sounded optimistic about winning from the seat though the ground situation may not be as rosy as it seems.
Winnability
Unlike his much-publicised peers, Bhattacharya, the BJP’s action man from Rahr Bangla or South West Bengal, is not a big-league politician but a leader of the masses. Despite his family’s deep roots in saffron party politics, Debtanu, much known for his articulate speaking ability, said he choose to move out of the comforts of city life and lure of a shining academic career.
"As a mathematics graduate, I had an option to choose a career in academics but I plunged into social work inspired by his mother, Krishna Bhattacharya, who died two years ago. My mother has been a great inspiration to me," Bhattacharya said.
According to sources, the BJP gave preference to the organisational skill of Debtanu, who is known for his mass appeal as a social worker. The TMC has the advantage of votes of minority population. Muslims comprise 30% of Bibhum's population, a factor which is sure to worry the BJP. For the saffron party, the consolidation of Hindu votes will make all the difference. Again, the party must be looking to lure leaders of TMC's rival factions to clandestinely work in its favour. At present, the absence of Anubrata Mondal is sure to haunt TMC which remained dependent on the jailed leader to win elections for decades.
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