Some of these repeated statements have been made by senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury (Adhil Ranjan Chaudhary) over the past few days while on a campaign, or talking to the media. It may be the most important, almost the deciding election in Chaudhary’s life. MP.
Baharrampur is one of 3 Lok Sabha constituencies in Murshidabad district, West Bengal which lies near international border with Bangladesh and has majority Muslim population.
The fourth phase of upcoming general elections will witness Baharampur going to polls and not only would it determine Chaudhary’s political career but also shape voter preferences in the state especially for Muslims.
Last Congress stronghold
At least for Lok Sabha polls, Baharampur has now become the last bastion of the Congress Party in West Bengal. Since 1951 when it was wrested from this seat by Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), which until 1999 had been with Left Front, as Siddhartha Sankar Roy- former Chief Minister of Congress led government in West Bengal contested here but lost.
In 1999, a young Choudhary barely into his forties took this seat and never let go. He was a firm supporter of Gandhi family all along and now leads his party in the House. Once he had complete control over both Baharampur and two other parliamentary seats here. Yet two seats were lost by Congress in this constituency in 2019 while Chowdhury managed to retain his own seat.
Its future will be determined by this election as it comes at a time when Congress’ run of three decades as rulers of what state is about to end. The Congress defended its turf against Malda, Murshidabad or South Dinajpur& North Dinajpur during Left Front rule; Birbhum home place of former Indian President Pranab Mukherjee and a staunch Congress loyalist. Between 6 to 7 seats in the West Bengal legislative assembly were won by Congress party in 2019
The party holds 44 seats with about 15% of the votes, but it’s a clean slate for them in 2021. To change its fortune, Congress has entered into several pacts within Bengal over the last few decades. It joined hands with Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress during the year of election held in 2011 after which it collaborated again with erstwhile adversary Left Front in 2016.
In Baharampur Lok Sabha seat, all seven Assembly segments were lost by the congress in 2021. The BJP won one and TMC took six.
Muslim factor
Since last five general elections Chaudhary had more than half votes to secure from this constituency. More than sixty percent turnouts came from Muslims of Murshidabad district while Jangipur Lok Sabha seat is about having sixty four percent share and Baharampur shares around fifty two percent. Muslim voters almost consistently voted for the Indian National Congress (INC) according to electoral data experts except for in 2019 when two MPs seats were also grabbed away by Trinamool; till then they had been rallying behind INC as seen even during this year’s poll outcomes that showed steady decline of its strength throughout this region in particular.
After Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called for protests against CAA which reflected through results of assembly elections held thus far into current year, Muslims rallied behind TMC since 2021.;
Banerjee fronted the Muslim factor during the campaign, which is more than she did for BJP. For Trinamool Congress, Congress party and Left parties in Bengal, Muslims are a low hanging fruit, which cannot be contested by anyone. Now these Muslims want only one thing; that they should be “protected” from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by Banerjee at least in West Bengal. This made her to refuse joining hands with Congress party of India for elections in Bengal.
A bipolar contest
It will be a two-corner election between TMC and Grand Old Party as per Baharrampur. In an unusual move, Banerjee nominated Yusuf Pathan as TMC’s candidate from Baharrampur instead of Chaudhry
Visited villages in Baharrampur and found out that though Chaudhry still has supporters, people rely more on the Trinamool Congress now.
Murshidabad also has highest number of migrating immigrants who have gone to work in other states. These constituencies are yet to see any return of migrant workers for fighting elections. It was therefore one among several factors that led to sharp decline in Murshidabad poll percentage during third phase polling.
Sadul Sheikh is a businessman from Baharrampur who said that Muslims have always voted for Chaudhry but this time they have come together as one party. “We don’t like Trinamool much; they didn’t do anything for us but we need to stick together. Besides we can trust Didi but not her party leaders. The situation has worsened due to BJP.”
Bappa Mondal (local villager), Beldanga said: Our village is very polarized now; it will vote on religious lines this time round.’ ‘’Adil Babu has always been with us; he is the most approachable leader. However, predicting it was not an easy thing this time because Beldanga experienced communal riots during Ram Navami and the village had underlying tensions”.
Banerjee’s popular cash schemes, including one for women, has generated strong local resonance. While corruption is an issue, it does not really matter that much in elections.
Fatima Biwi (wife of a migrant worker running a small grocery) in Beldanga said “It was calm between Hindu and Muslim areas until Ram Navami. Riots. We were not sure if we could go out on the day of voting. The menfolk had gone to work outside the state; they didn’t come back to vote again.
Check detailed schedule and key constituencies 2024 Lok Sabha elections fourth phase
