Egra, April 15 -- Suvendhu Adhikari who often attacks the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) over "Parivarbad" seems to be quietly building his own "dynasty" in East Midnapore, but this time he faces the same allegation as a section within the BJP who have long term party association has been opposing the candidature of Dibyendu Adhikari, younger brother of Suvendu from Egra Assembly Constituency.
Egra which is considered a bastion of the ruling TMC, is set to witness a tight contest in the upcoming elections as various local issues may decide the outcome of the elections. The sitting MLA from Egra, Tarun Kumar Maity, is recontesting as a TMC candidate.
Some people from Tentulia village in Egra I said that Suvendu who had revolted against the ruling party over the "dysnasty" politics is now promoting the same. Many local BJP leaders including veteran leader Anup Chakraborty were in the race to become the candidate. But the ticket was given to Dibyendu. A BJP leader who works in Egra municipality said that those who fought for the BJP in the difficult time have been deprived.
Dibyendu Adhikari has however denied the allegation of "Parivarbad" and said that his father Sisir Adhikari was born in Egra and he was elected as an MLA from Egra in 2006. He also promised that if he wins the elections he will implement the Kanthi-Egra rail projects.
A section of voters have however raised questions about the price hike of LPG gas and other essential commodities and held the BJP-led government at the Centre responsible. Many have also expressed their anguish over "unscientific" deletion of names of voters from the electoral rolls.
On the other hand, an anti-incumbency factor has also been working against the ruling TMC as well. A local vendor at Digha More area under Egra Assembly on condition of anonymity said that the current TMC MLA failed to carry out adequate development works. He, however, accepted that people have been getting benefits of various social schemes of the Mamata Banerjee government. The local economy is based on rice and vegetable cultivation, pottery, small businesses and weekly markets.
Internal fighting within the ruling TMC is also a major issue which could go against it in the upcoming polls. The way an FIR was filed against a senior leader and chairman of Egra municipality Swapan Kumar Nayek did not go down well with a section of TMC leaders. Nayek was arrested, later released. He was reinstated as per the order of the court.
The BJP has expanded its reach in the recent past. The Left Front and Congress, even when contesting in an alliance in the 2019 Assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha polls, managed a modest presence, with their best showing being only 2.89 per cent of the votes in 2024, which is unlikely to
impact the result.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha, the BJP had a lead in the Egra segment by 8,694 votes, which stood at 3.90 per cent.
This lead was almost unchanged in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, when the BJP was ahead by 8,998 votes, which is 3.80 per cent.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.