The November 13 by-elections in six West Bengal assembly seats, the state's first election since the nation-shaking RG Kar rape and murder case, have devolved into a "retain and regain" contest between the ruling Trinamool Congress, its rival BJP, and Bengal's former ruler CPI(M).
In an attempt to hold onto the one Assembly seat out of six, Madarihat in north Bengal, which the party had won in 2021, the saffron camp is heavily relying on the rape and murder of a trainee postgraduate doctor at a state-run healthcare facility.
This comes after the TMC's fierce attack during the most recent general elections.
Given the recent horrific RG Kar rape-murder tragedy that occurred three years ago, the ruling TMC appears to be in a frantic attempt to shield the other five seats inside its territory from the wrath of the electorate.
The CPI(M), the main force behind organising nearly 8,000 protest marches across the state under the banner of “Reclaim the Night” highlighting the RG Kar issue as a glaring example of lawlessness in the state, is eyeing to regain its strength which the party had lost in the past elections since the change of guard in the state in 2011.
The leaders of the party acknowledged that there is little likelihood of gaining even one of the six seats.
“But we expect a considerable rise in our vote-share with the support of educated and young voters in the upcoming electoral battle,” said CPI(M)’s central committee member Sujan Chakrabarty. The BJP rubbished the CPI(M)’s expectation describing it as “day-dreaming”.
“More than 98 per cent of the protest marches were organised in the state’s urban and semi urban pockets which fall under municipal civic bodies. In the last Lok Sabha elections, we secured leads in TMC-dominated 71 municipalities out of 123. If the electorates’ discontent is reflected in Wednesday’s by-elections, it is the BJP who will get the electoral dividend of it. The CPI(M) was rejected by voters after Left Front’s 34-year misrule and their expectation to boost-up the vote-share is nothing other than day-dreaming,” said BJP spokesperson Shamik Ghosh.
By-elections in six Assembly seats, Sitai and Madarihat in north Bengal and Naihati, Medinipur, Haroa and Taldangra in south Bengal were necessitated as all the sitting MLAs fot elected to Parliament in this year’s Lok Sabha polls.
In the last general elections, BJP was ahead of the TMC in Madarihat and Medinipur Assembly constituencies by 9,000 and 11,000 votes respectively.
Citing data of the 2021 Assembly elections, a BJP leader said the CPI(M) would be evaporated from the face of the electoral arena
In 2021, when the Left and Congress contested together and failed to win a single seat, their candidates got 1.66 per cent votes in Sitai, 4.24 per cent in Madarihat, 10.11 per cent in Naihati, 5.43 per cent in Medinipur and 11.41 per cent in Taldangra.
In Haroa, LF-Congress joined hands with newly floated outfit Indian Secular Force (ISF) and secured 21.73 per cent. But in the 2024 general elections, the LF-Congress alliance got only 3.26 per cent votes as the ISF decided to contest alone.
“Other than retaining Madarihat seat, we will snatch the Medicipur seat from the TMC this time,” said the BJP leader.
LF-Congress alliance did not work in his bypolls and the grand old party fielded candidates in all six seats.
The TMC, however, is confident to bag all six seats in tomorrow’s by-elections claiming the RG Kar issue has no significance to the elections and the BJP is dragging the issue knowing it well.
“The by-elections will be held on the basis of developments carried out by Mamata Banerjee’s government. It was proved in this year’s Lok Sabha polls as the BJP’s tally dipped to 12 from 18. Bengal’s electorates have no alternative to rely on. We will win all six seats in the by-elections,” said TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh.
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