On Saturday, West Bengal will see its fourth phase of election out of the eight phases scheduled as a total of 44 seats, spread across five districts will go to polls between 7 am to 6 pm.
This phase is expected to be one of the most keenly watched tranches of the electoral process in the politically charged state as most many due for polling lie in the North Bengal region, where the BJP had managed to make inroads during the past Lok Sabha polls. The BJP will be striving hard to hold its fort in the North Bengal region, while the TMC will seek to recover its lost ground amid changing political equations.
The 44 seats due for polls lie across Cooch Behar and Alipurduar districts in north Bengal and in parts of South 24 Parganas, Howrah and Hoogly in the southern part of the state.
Once considered a bastion of the Congress and the Left Front, north Bengal districts - mostly dominated by tribal and minority communities -- have largely remained out of bounds for the TMC, barring a brief period of time.
The districts in Southern parts too contain a few swing seats.
The ruling camp had managed to fare well in 2016 state polls, when it bagged 25 seats in the region, but the subsequent general election in 2019 changed the course of the wind in favour of the BJP, which won seven of the eight Lok Sabha seats and stayed ahead in 35 assembly segments. The TMC, which pulled up its socks after the Lok Sabha poll debacle, has, however, managed to woo back GJM leader Bimal Gurung, who holds sway over at least 15 Assembly seats and 11 Gorkha communities.
BJP state president Dilip Ghosh stated that his party is confident of sweeping North Bengal this election. Negating him, senior TMC leader and state minister Gautam Deb claimed that "tables would be turned on rivals" and the ruling party will emerge victorious in the northern part of the state.
44 seats to go to poll
| Sl No | Assembly Constituency No |
Constituency Name
|
| 1 | 1 | Mekliganj (SC) |
| 2 | 2 |
Mathabhanga (SC)
|
| 3 | 3 |
Coochbehar Uttar (SC)
|
| 4 | 4 |
Coochbehar Dakshin
|
| 5 | 5 | Sitalkuchi (SC) |
| 6 | 6 | Sitai (SC) |
| 7 | 7 | Dinhata |
| 8 | 8 | Natabari |
| 9 | 9 | Tufanganj |
| 10 | 10 |
Kumargram (ST)
|
| 11 | 11 | Kalchini (ST) |
| 12 | 12 | Alipurduars |
| 13 | 13 | Falakata (SC) |
| 14 | 14 | Madarihat (ST) |
| 15 | 147 |
Sonarpur Dakshin
|
| 16 | 148 | Bhangar |
| 17 | 149 | Kasba |
| 18 | 150 | Jadavpur |
| 19 | 151 | Sonarpur Uttar |
| 20 | 152 | Tollyganj |
| 21 | 153 | Behala Purba |
| 22 | 154 | Behala Paschim |
| 23 | 155 | Maheshtala |
| 24 | 156 | Budge Budge |
| 25 | 157 | Metiaburuz |
| 26 | 169 | Bally |
| 27 | 170 | Howrah Uttar |
| 28 | 171 | Howrah Madhya |
| 29 | 172 | Shibpur |
| 30 | 173 | Howrah Dakshin |
| 31 | 174 | Sankrail (SC) |
| 32 | 175 | Panchla |
| 33 | 176 | Uluberia Purba |
| 34 | 184 | Domjur |
| 35 | 185 | Uttarpara |
| 36 | 186 | Sreerampur |
| 37 | 187 | Champdani |
| 38 | 188 | Singur |
| 39 | 189 | Chandannagar |
| 40 | 190 | Chunchura |
| 41 | 191 | Balagarh (SC) |
| 42 | 192 | Pandua |
| 43 | 193 | Saptagram |
| 44 | 194 | Chanditala |
Date and Time of poll
Polling for the phase-IV will begin at 7 am and will conclude at 6.30 pm today, on 10 April when a total of 1,15,81,022 voters will decide the fate of 373 candidates in constituencies spread over Howrah (Part II), South 24 Parganas(Part III), Hooghly (Part II), Alipurduar and Cooch Behar.
Of the 44 constituencies, nine assembly constituencies are in Howrah, 11 in South 24 Parganas, five in Alipurduar, nine in Coochbehar and ten in Hooghly.
The Election Commission has deployed 789 companies of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) at 15,940 polling stations which are spread over the 44 constituencies going to polls. The highest deployment of 187 companies of CAPF has been done in Cooch Behar, which has witnessed sporadic incidents of violence in the run-up to the elections, including an attack on BJP state president Dilip Ghosh.
Key candidates in fray
The electoral fates of Union Minister Babul Supriyo and West Bengal ministers Partha Chatterjee and Arup Biswas will be decided in this phase.
Supriyo will lock horns with sitting MLA Arup Biswas at Tollygunj, known to be the heart of the Bengali film industry in the southern outskirts of Kolkata, while Partha Chatterjee, who is also the TMC's secretary general, will take on film actor Srabanti Chatterjee of the BJP in Behala West seat to return to the Assembly for the fourth successive term.
Also in the fray on Saturday is TMC turncoat Rajib Banerjee, a former minister of the Mamata Banerjee cabinet, who will contest from Domjur in Howrah district on a BJP ticket. He along with fellow turncoat Suvendu Adhikari has been the focus of stinging attacks by the TMC supremo who called them "gaddars" (traitors) and Mir Jafar and attacked them in almost every election meeting.
Rajib Banerjee on his part has said at the campaign meetings that it had become impossible to remain in TMC owing to its "corrupt practices" and arrogance and anti-people stance of its leaders. He claimed that has joined BJP to work for the people of the state.
BJP MPs Locket Chatterjee and Nisith Pramanik are contesting from Chuchura and Dinhata seats in Hoogly and Cooch Behar districts respectively. Their presence in the poll fray for the state assembly had led the TMC supremo to quip that the saffron party is fielding its parliamentary members as it does not have suitable candidates.
The saffron party replied saying that by nominating its MPs it showed the importance it accorded to the assembly elections in West Bengal.
With inputs from PTI
April 10, 2021 at 12:05AM
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