The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will clash with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) again in the bypolls for four Assembly seats — Maniktala, Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin and Bagdah — in West Bengal on July 10.
Three seats — Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin and Bagdah – were won by BJP MLAs in 2021, but they switched to the TMC. Raiganj’s Krishna Kalyani, Ranaghat’s Mukut Moni and Bagdah’s Biswajit Das unsuccessfully contested the recent Lok Sabha elections. Maniktala’s TMC MLA Sadhan Pandey passed away recently.
BJP insiders feel that they have an edge. In the Lok Sabha polls, in Matua-dominated Bagdah, the BJP got a lead of more than 20,000 votes. In Ranaghat South, the BJP got a lead of more than 36,000 and Raiganj, the margin was above 46,000. The BJP feels winning three seats, after the non-satisfactory performance in the Lok Sabha elections, will boost the morale of the cadre.
Suvendhu Adhikary and the Bengal BJP team is in campaign mode as it has fielded local leader Manas Kumar Ghish from Raiganj, Manoj Kumar Biswas from Ranaghat South and Binay Kumar Biswas from Bagdah. They have fielded AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey in Maniktala.
The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC, too, is hopeful of winning the four seats, say party insiders. The good results in the Lok Sabha polls will have an impact on the mid-term bypolls, say leaders.
The TMC is confident of retaining Maniktala as Pandey’s wife Supti is contesting from here. In Bagdah, the TMC has fielded TMC’s Rajya Sabha MP Mamata Bala Thakur’s s daughter Madhuparna. Madhuparna is the cousin of BJP’s Minister Shantanu Thakur. The TMC’s strategy is a “Thakurbari daughter” will get them Matua votes. In Raiganj, Krishna Kalyani will again fight after the Lok Sabha loss.
In Ranaghat, too, the TMC has again fielded Mukut Moni.
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