The party said that it announced the names of 20 candidates from among the 26 seats for which it has an alliance with the Left Front
Abbas Siddiqui-led Indian Secular Front (ISF), an alliance partner of the Left Front and the Congress in the State, on March 14 announced the names of candidates for 20 constituencies in the upcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal.
ISF president Simul Soren will contest from Haripal in Hooghly district, while Mohammed Iqbal and Nuruzzaman will be the party’s candidates from Entally and Metiabruz, respectively, it said in a statement.
ISF is yet to announce the names of candidates from Canning Purba, Jangipara, Bhangar, Madhyamgram, Haroa and Mayureshwar — the seats it has identified to fight from as a part of the alliance.
The party said that it announced the names of 20 candidates from among the 26 seats for which it has an alliance with the Left Front.
While the Left Front has given 30 seats to the ISF from its kitty, the Congress, from which the Siddique-led party demanded 15 seats, has agreed to give it only eight from its share.
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BJP MP Locket Chatterjee on Saturday visited the residence of TMC’s Lok Sabha member Sisir Adhikari, who is also the father of political heavyweight and the saffron party’s Nandigram candidate Suvendu Adhikari, raising speculation that the veteran leader might switch camp ahead of the Bengal assembly polls. Chatterjee, who had lunch at the Adhikari residence at Contai, stressed that it was ”courtesy call”, and Sisir Adhikaris political move was not discussed during the meeting, even as political corridors went abuzz with murmurs that the TMC MP might join the saffron camp during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state later this month.
Sources told News18 that Locket Chatterjee has invited Sisir Adhikari to PM Modi’s Contai on March 24.
”It was a courtesy lunch. Sisirda is a senior politician and the Adhikari family is synonymous with Medinipur (of which Nandigram is a part). He had once praised my Lok Sabha speech. We share good rapport. He requested me to visit him again,” the BJP leader said. She, however, clarified that the BJP would welcome the TMC MP with open arms if he decides to join the party.
Sisir Adhikari, on his part, told reporters that two of his sons are BJP members, and ”Locket visiting his residence should not surprise anyone. Why should anyone have their eyebrows raised when a leader makes a courtesy visit?” Veteran TMC leader Sougata Roy, when approached, said ”Sisirda has largely remained inactive in the recent times…We will urge him not to join the ’dal badal’ (party changing) game, given his advanced age and ailments.” BJP spokesperson Shamik Bhattacharya claimed that all of Purba Medinipur wants the Adhikari family patriarch to join the saffron camp.
Notably, Suvendu Adhikari and his brother Soumendu, who also joined the BJP two months ago, were not at home during the BJP MP’s visit to their residence. Their other brother, Dibyendu — also a TMC MP – was present at the lunch meet.
Kolkata: In yet another political twist in West Bengal, Abbas Siddiqui — one of the strong Muslim clerics in West Bengal and founder of the Indian Secular Front (ISF) — is likely to field a candidate against Trinamool Congress chief and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from Nandigram in East Midnapore in the upcoming 2021 Assembly polls.
Nandigram is a crucial seat as Banerjee came to power in 2011 riding the wave of anti-land acquisition movements in Nandigram and Singur. That is why the BJP and the Congress-Left Front-ISF alliance is trying to corner the chief minister in this seat with a strong anti-incumbency message.
While BJP is yet to finalise its candidate sources said the Congress-Left Front-ISF have decided to field a strong ISF candidate. Speaking to the News18.com, Abbas Siddiqui’s brother and chairman of ISF Naushad Siddiqui said, “Yes, talks are going on between us and the Left-Congress alliance to field ISF candidate against Mamata Banerjee from prestigious Nandigram seat.”
When asked when they are going to organise a ‘mega public rally’ in Nandigram, he said, “In coming 10-15 days, we will hold the mega rally and before that all the formalities will be done as far fielding our candidate is concern. Talks are still going on and we will announce it officially soon.”
Siddiqui is an influential cleric of Furfura Sharif Darbar Hooghly district’s Jangipara. His decision to contest the 2021 state elections could be a worry for Banerjee as it will inevitably divide the Muslim vote share.
Then, addressing a huge public rally at Tekhali in Nandigram, she said, “Nandigram is close to my heart. I can forget my name but I cannot forget Nandigram. Considering the emotional attachment I have with the people of Nandigram, today I am announcing that I wish to contest the upcoming poll from Nandigram.”
With more than a 31 percent vote share, the Muslim vote is undeniably a deciding factor for any political party in West Bengal.
It was a deciding factor during the Left rule till Banerjee came to power in 2011. She knows very well that any significant division in the Muslim vote share – a deciding factor in nearly 90 Assembly segments out of 294 Assembly seats in the state – could jeopardise her mission 2021 Assembly polls.
In 2019 Lok Sabha, Bengal witnessed a polarised voting pattern. The BJP had openly played the Hindu card, while the TMC banked on the Muslims. Such was the polarisation that even the Matuas (strong supporters of TMC) voted for BJP for raising the citizenship issue.
While the polarisation came as a concern for TMC (as Hindu votes are shying away towards BJP), Abbas Siddqui’s 2021 Assembly poll debut in Bengal, could be a boon for BJP due to inevitable division in Muslim vote share.
In 2019, TMC got 43 per cent votes (despite losing 12 seats) which is 5 per cent more (because of Muslim support) as compare to 2014 Lok Sabha. In 2014, TMC got 34 seats, while in 2019 it managed to secure only 22 seats.
On the other hand, in 2016 Assembly BJP’s vote share was 12 percent and in 2019 Lok Sabha it went up to 39 percent. There was an increase of 27 percent vote share mainly because of Hindus coalescing towards the BJP.
In West Bengal, nearly 22 percent Muslims lives in Kolkata city while majority of them (nearly 67 per cent) lives in Murshidabad district.
West Bengal accounts for the second highest Muslim population in India which is nearly 2.47 crore, who form nearly 27.5 per cent of the state’s population.
In the 2016 Assembly polls, TMC was ahead in nearly 90 minority-dominated Assembly segments. In densely Muslim populated Muslim areas comprise of more than 40 percent of the electorate – TMC was ahead in nearly 60 out of 65 Assembly constituencies.
This shows how a minor swing in the Muslim vote share towards Abbas Siddqui could be a big problem for Banerjee in Nandigram.
