All eyes will be on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who is contesting from the Bhawanipur Assembly seat in the fifth phase of the West Bengal Assembly polls that will take place on Saturday. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo is pitted against Congress heavyweight and former Union Minister Deepa Dasmunsi. The other important candidate in Bhawanipur is Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose' grand nephew, Chandra Bose of Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP]. BJP was in lead in the Bhawanipur Assembly segment in 2014 Lok Sabha election.
The phase- with 53 seats spread over three districts- may finally decide the winner like in previous elections. In 2014 Lok Sabha poll, TMC got 49 out of 53 Assembly segments going to poll on Saturday. The party's performance was nearly as good in 2011 Assembly election. While on one hand TMC needs to retain the seats to stay in power, the Left-Congress alliance can put the ruling party under severe stress if they manage to offset at least 20-30 percent of seats. Even the analysts, who are nearly sure of an alliance victory in this election, indicated that this is perhaps the most critical phase of a sex-phase election.
“If the Left-Congress alliance could not get an respectable number of seats here then it will be difficult for them to form the government,” said political observer Maidul Islam. He also said that in the South 24 Parganas district anti-incumbency factor may work against TMC as here the Panchayet bodies are being headed by TMC since 2008. However, political scientists and poll analyst Prof. Biswanath Chakravarty feels that TMC could be in severe trouble in “pockets of south Bengal” may experience “anti-incumbency” as the party is routinely winning in south Bengal for a decade. All the three districts going to poll on Saturday - South 24 Paraganas, Kolkata and Hooghly - are in south Bengal.
A day before the poll TMC received yet another jolt on Friday as the Election Commission (EC) prohibited former Transport Minister and one of the Chief Minister’s trusted lieutenants Madan Mitra from using any mobile phones. Mr. Mitra got admitted to the city’s State run SSKM Hospital on Tuesday from the Alipore jail as he complained of chest pain.
“As per the Commission’s instructions the Home Secretary has issued an order stating that only Mr. Mitra’s family members can meet him (in the hospital) and he will not be allowed to use any mobile phone during his stay,” Additional Chief Electoral Officer Dibyendu Sarkar said. Allegedly Mr Mitra played a key role in in the previous elections in Bhawanipur.
The shadow of the Narada sting operation also looms large on the fifth phase as four TMC leaders who were among those seen taking money are in the fray. These TMC leaders are Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim, Panchayat Minister Subrata Mukherjee, Kolkata Mayor Sovan Chatterjee and Iqbal Ahmed. The fate of 349 candidates will be decided by about 1.20 crore voters in the fifth phase in which 53 Assembly seats in South 24 Parganas. Kolkata South and Hooghly districts will go to polls.
Among other heavyweight candidates are Fire Service and Disaster Management Minister Javed Ahmed Khan and Housing and Youth Affairs Minister Aroop Biswas and Education Minister Partha Chatterjee. Expelled CPI-M leader and former Left Front Minister Abdur Rezzak Molla is contesting on a TMC ticket from the Bhangar constituency in South 24 Parganas. Heavy security arrangements have been made for the fifth phase polls as the EC will deploy 680 companies of Central forces in the aforesaid poll bound districts.
According to the report published by the Association for Democratic Reforms 67 candidates in the fifth phase have criminal records while 43 are crorepaties. The average assets of candidates in the phase are Rs. 70.78 lakhs.
