Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will contest the upcoming assembly elections from Nandigram, vacating her Bhawanipore seat in South Kolkata for the first time in 10 years, the party announced in its candidate list released Friday evening.
Mamata’s decision to shift to Nandigram in East Midnapore district, around 150 km from Kolkata, could potentially see her battle it out with former cabinet colleague and once close aide Suvendu Adhikari, who shifted allegiance to the BJP in December.
The Trinamool has released names for 291 constituencies, with three seats going to its ally, the Binoy Tamang faction of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM)
The party has dropped at least 28 sitting MLAs, and handed tickets to around 46 new faces, including cricketer Manoj Tiwary and the Mohun Bagan football legend Bidesh Bose.
Other poll debutants include a number of actors such as Kaushani Mukherjee, Lovely Moitra, Kanchan Mullick, Soham Chakraborty, June Maliah, Sayantika Banerjee, Sayani Ghosh, singer Aditi Munshi and director Raj Chakraborty.
Former IPS officer Humayun Kabir and Dalit author Manoranjan Byapari have also been handed tickets.
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Host of sitting MLAs dropped
The Trinamool Congress had won 212 seats in the 2016 elections but 18 of its MLAs have since defected to the BJP. One more, former cricketer Laxmi Ratan Shukla, resigned but he has claimed that he is retiring from politics.
Of the remaining 193 MLAs, it was expected that Mamata would deny tickets to at least 80 to 90 of them. These were MLAs in whose constituencies the party had trailed in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
A veteran TMC leader, however, said the chief minister only dropped about 28 of them and kept the remaining as they were “loyal” to the party.
“We also recommended over 70 women candidates, Didi has given nomination to 51,” said the leader who was part of the TMC’s 12-member selection committee.
“In 2016, we had 45 women candidates. It is an increase. Didi decided the names analysing the winnability factor.”
Those who lost out include senior cabinet ministers Amit Mitra, Purnendu Bose and Rezzak Mollah.
Addressing a press conference at her residence near Kalighat, where she announced the candidate, the chief minister said Mitra was not on the list as he won’t be able to fight elections due to “age-related and Covid infection issues”.
Bose, she said, has been given the responsibility of managing Nandigram.
“Bengal never faced such polarisation over religion, caste and creed,” the chief minister said. “With the BJP’s entry, they have divided society. So, this time we had to think over the list and make it an inclusive one for all communities.”
Others dropped include veteran Rabindranath Bhattacharya of Singur, former IPS officer Rachpal Singh of Tarakeshwar, actor Deboshree Roy, Rabiranjan Chatterjee of Burdwan and Mamata’s close aide and deputy speaker Sonali Guha.
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Muslim candidates down
Of the significant changes in the Trinamool list this time around is the number of Muslim candidates. The party has fielded 42 Muslims, down from 57 in the 2016 elections.
Political analysts say that this is an attempt by the chief minister to prevent the BJP from consolidating the Hindu vote.
“Mamata is trying to stop Hindu consolidation in favour of BJP,” said political analyst Biswanath Chakraborti.
“She has taken Muslims for granted. She knows that Muslims will not have no choice other than to consolidate in her favour,” senior analyst Partha Pratim Bose said. “She has fielded over a dozen new faces to preach soft Hindutva. Actors and singers who joined yesterday or the day before have got nominations.”
Subrata Mukherjee, a minister and a member of the TMC election committee, however, said the party wanted to be inclusive.
“Choosing a candidate depends on the winnability factor. Our list is an inclusive one; we have representatives from all communities,” Mukherjee said.
Didi vacates Bhawanipore
The other talking point is Mamata’s decision to vacate Bhawanipore and contest from Nandigram.
The chief minister has fielded her veteran cabinet colleague Sovandeb Chatterjee at Bhawanipore, taking him out of his original constituency of Rashbehari in south Kolkata. Chatterjee is the state’s power minister.
State BJP president Dilip Ghosh said the CM has shifted due to a fear of losing.
“She knows that Bhawanipore is not safe for her anymore,” Ghosh said.
Mukherjee, however, dismissed the suggestions. “Mamata will win from any seat she contests. She is emotionally attached to Nandigram and that is why she has chosen Nandigram,” he said.
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