tmc-bjp-heavyweights-prepare-for-intense-balurghat-battle-in-west-bengal

An intense electoral contest looms over the Balurghat Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal’s Dakshin Dinajpur district as BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar and TMC veteran Biplab Mitra gear up for a fierce showdown.

 

Majumdar, who entered the electoral fray in 2019, emerged victorious with 5,39,317 votes, securing a lead of 33,293 votes and wresting the seat from TMC’s Arpita Ghosh.

 

In this election, Majumdar faces off against TMC’s Biplab Mitra, the state’s consumer affairs minister, who secured victory from the Harirampur assembly seat in 2021 on a TMC ticket after a brief stint with the saffron party in 2019.

 

The polling for Balurghat, situated in northern West Bengal, is scheduled for the second phase on April 26.

 

"It will be a clean sweep for the BJP this year, banking on Narendra Modi's development and good governance plank in contrast with the corruption charges against the TMC and the atrocities committed on women in Sandeshkhali. People of Balurghat, like the rest of West Bengal, will decisively vote for Modiji," Majumdar asserted.

 

The BJP state president, a former professor, exudes confidence in securing victory by a margin of over one lakh votes, citing his initiatives to improve connectivity in Balurghat and adjoining areas of north Bengal through railway projects like the Sealdah-Balurghat Express.

 

"Previously, none had thought about bringing Balurghat on the railway map and boosting its connectivity. This was made possible by Modiji and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Dakshin Dinajpur had been neglected, being a district in the interiors," he said.

 

While six assembly segments in the constituency lie in Dakshin Dinajpur, another is in Uttar Dinajpur, with four segments represented by the TMC and three by the BJP.

 

Majumdar also accuses the TMC of false publicity regarding beneficiaries receiving funds under the Awas Yojana and the assurance of free 5-kg rice and wheat distribution.

 

In contrast, Mitra, a lawyer by profession, highlights the development projects undertaken across the state by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee since 2011. 

 

"Unlike BJP leaders like Majumdar, we stay with the common people throughout the year... People of West Bengal are reaping benefits of the development work initiated by the TMC government since 2011," he said.

 

He alleges that the Centre withheld dues to Bengal under the MGNREGA, and the chief minister is managing funds from the state's resources to prevent the poor from being deprived.

 

"All the false propaganda of the BJP will be spurned by our electorate," he asserted.

 

Mitra was greeted by thousands of jubilant supporters during a recent visit to the Gangarampur rail station in Dakshin Dinajpur.

 

"None of it was pre-planned. People assembled in thousands as I got down from the train, and took me out of the station in a procession,” he said, hinting at the wide acceptance of him as a candidate for Balurghat.

Majumdar was also seen interacting with voters at various places in the constituency in the last few days.

 

Asked if he was apprehensive about any infighting in the BJP as claimed by the TMC during campaigning, Majumdar said, "We don't have any internal squabble in the area." 

 

He said the opposition INDIA bloc was also of little significance and posed no challenge to the saffron party.

 

Balurghat was earlier a stronghold of Left Front constituent RSP, which won the seat consecutively from 1984 till 2009.

 

The Balurghat seat, with an electorate of 12,54,497, is known for high voter turnout during polls. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Balurghat had recorded 83.61 per cent turnout.