JOIN US If the hills of Darjeeling and plains of Siliguri are tough battlegrounds for Trinamool Congress, for the Left and Congress, it is time to prove their combined mettle in Alipurduar, the crucial district of Jalpaiguri.
With the new district Alipurduar curved out in 2014, the Left-Congress coalition faces a tough time retaining five of the seven seats it currently holds.
Considered a Left stronghold before Alipurduar’s formation, partners CPM and RSP had won five seats in Jalpaiguri while the Congress won three. Much has changed in last five years and from playing second fiddle to the Congress in North Bengal, the Trinamool has emerged strongest at Alipurduar.
Ground realities suggest the Trinamool is most likely to increase its tally since it has managed to drive a wedge in the Congress and Left, ensuring significant defections from both sides. Trinamool staged a coup of sorts when it drew to its ranks RSP MLA Ananta Deb Adhikari from Moynaguri and CPM MLA Bulu Chik Baraik from Malbazar, fielding both from their respective seats on the Trinamool tickets. The ruling party also imported number of other Left and Congress leaders, along with droves of supporters from both sides since the 2014 parliamentary elections.
While the combine is hopeful of putting up a tough fight, the Trinamool is confident of winning more seats. Trinamool’s Jalpaiguri district president Saurav Chakraborty claimed his party will win all seven seats in the district even though sources pointed out that some seats like Nagrakata, Malbazar, Moynaguri and Jalpaiguri would give the ruling party a tough contest.
If sitting Congress MLA Joseph Munda from Nagrakata is considered a favourite, BJP candidate John Barla, leader of the influential Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikash Parishad is also not a lightweight, given his sway among the large tribal population, most of who work in the region’s tea estates. Another tight spot for the Trinamool is likely to be Moynaguri, where sitting MLA Adhikari, one of the high-profile defectors, seems to have lost the electorate’s favour since 2011. Selection of the former RSP leader for the contest has also caused some rift within Trinamool ranks, who wanted a home-grown party leader instead of an “outsider”.