During the 2021 Assembly elections in West Bengal, Nandigram witnessed a real contest between CM Mamata Banerjee and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, who jumped ship ahead of the polls and challenged his former boss CM Banerjee to contest from the seat.
Drama and tension reached its peak as CM Banerjee accepted the challenge and contested against her erstwhile party member in Nandigram, only to taste defeat. The manner in which results were declared created room for the ruling Trinamool Congress to cry foul play. But the reality is CM Banerjee lost to Adhikari, however with a mere margin of 1,956 votes.
That year 2021 is credited to have another notable development in the field of Bengal’s politics. The term Khela Hobe (The game is on) was coined— the credit of which goes to Debangshu Bhattacharya, whom the TMC has fielded from Tamluk allegedly to take revenge for CM Banerjee’s loss from Nandigram.
Nandigram is one of the Assembly seats, which comes under Tamluk Lok Sabha constituency that is going to polls on May 25.
The Bharatiya Janata Party chose to pit former Justice of Calcutta High Court Abhijit Ganguly, who recently joined the saffron clan after completing his tenure as a judge. However, how far this will improve the prospects of the BJP in the state is debatable.
Just like the 2021 Assembly polls in Nandigram, everyone is hooked to the outcome of the contest in Tamluk Lok Sabha constituency of West Bengal.
While the TMC fielding Bhattacharya from a seat like Tamluk may find resonance with him being credited to coin party’s war cry of 2021, that is, Khela Hobe, there are other aspects to it as well.
Bhattacharya, 27, is making his electoral debut this year. However, he was associated with politics as a leader of Trinamool Student’s Wing. He is popular among the masses, especially youngsters, and rose to fame by proving his loyalty to the party at every step. His commitment towards the TMC made him win the head position of the party’s IT cell in 2022. Being the state’s spokesperson, Bhattacharya also represents the party on prime-time television debates and talk shows.
In comparison to Bhattacharya, BJP’s Tamluk candidate, Ganguly, seems to possess very few virtues to be sent to the Parliament. Former Justice, too, is participating in electoral politics for the first time. However, the mandate he gave corresponding to the West Bengal Staff Selection Commission (WBSSC) examination left the ruling party in shambles with several party leaders not being able to escape the long-arm of the law who were associated with the 2016 SSC scam.
Maybe, a reason enough to get inducted to the BJP.
While one would expect fair play from a Justice in giving verdicts, Ganguly joining politics by becoming a member of the BJP makes one question the intentions behind those rulings, which he pronounced as a judge, and were against the ruling TMC.
On a deeper level, Ganguly hails from a family who was loyalist to the Communist Party of India (Marxist). One wonders whether this prompted him to join hands with the BJP. Since the charisma of the Left in West Bengal is diminishing with each passing year, Ganguly thought BJP to be the best alternative to fight the TMC— a party which ended 34 years of CPI(M)’s rule.
Moreover, if a Justice steps down from his position to become a parliamentarian that appears more like a demotion than stepping up to work for mankind.
Ganguly’s decision to enter politics seems to draw parallels with former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi joining the BJP to become a Rajya Sabha MP.
Both the contenders from Tamluk are making their electoral debut in 2024. But both possessed distinct trajectories before entering into politics. The 2024 narrative of Tamluk includes young versus old and experience versus energy. So how will the 'Khela' unfold depends on what the locals select for themselves. However, as spectators one can expect a tough contest just like the 2021 Assembly polls in Nandigram.
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