The coming by-elections for six seats have opened up room for fresh speculation in Bengal — on whether former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will contest from one of them. Even in absence of any comment from Banerjee, it has become a talking point.
The first is Rejinagar vacated by Humayun Kabir, who had also won from the Naoda constituency. There is also Nandigram – vacated by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari who retained the Bhabanipur seat where he beat Banerjee this year. Two seats from Bengal will be up for polls, due on October 6.
Earlier, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party both lost their poll symbols and party name after a split when the other side claimed they were the real party. Many believe that given the BJP’s rise in Bengal and the defections in Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, the party chief should lead the party from the front. To do that, it is essential to contest and ensure her seat in the assembly. As an MLA, Banerjee, they point out, can effectively raise the issues dominating public discourse, serve as the Leader of the Opposition and help safeguard her party. Party insiders suggested that Banerjee should form an alliance with the Congress for the by-elections on these two seats.
It could work better for Trinamool since this is an area where Congress’s Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has served as MP multiple times, they said. The big complication could be whether Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress will retain the poll symbol of “twin flowers”. “People are with Mamata Banerjee, and our candidate will certainly contest the election from there,” said Trinamool Congress’s Kunal Ghosh.
