The BJP faces an uphill battle against TMC in south Kolkata’s Ballygunge and Rashbehari seats, long considered strongholds of the Mamata Banerjee-led party since the Left Front era in West Bengal.
While the BJP and Left parties are banking on anti-incumbency to make inroads in the constituencies, the TMC remains confident of retaining its dominance in the region.
Both Ballygunge and Rashbehari are politically significant constituencies with a diverse voter base comprising affluent, middle-class and economically weaker sections. Ballygunge, in particular, has a sizeable Muslim population, accounting for nearly 50 per cent of its electorate.
"This time, it will be an evenly-poised fight between the TMC and BJP in Rashbehari, but it is tough to predict the Ballygunge constituency, with the contest there likely to be a three-cornered as the CPI(M) is a force to reckon with," said Santanu Ghosh, a teacher and political watcher told PTI.
The CPI(M) came second in the 2022 Ballygunge by-election. The party has this time fielded greenhorn Afreen Begum against TMC's heavyweight candidate, Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, a veteran leader and minister in the Mamata Banerjee government and BJP's Shatorupa.
"Afreen will prove to be a dark horse in Ballygunge... She is a fresh candidate and is pursuing a PhD degree from Jadavpur University," CPI(M) leader Ajoy Dasgupta said.
"We believe she is ahead of other candidates," Dasgupta told PTI, stating that Afreen, whose family has resided in Beckbagan within Ballugunge area for over 100 years, has visited every house in the constituency.
Chattopadhyay had vacated the Bhabanipur seat after winning it in 2021 to facilitate a by-election that Banerjee won after she lost to BJP's Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram in the assembly polls. He was thereafter elected from Khardah in North 24 Parganas district in a bypoll.
The TMC leadership shifted Chattopadhyay, respected across party lines for his gentlemanly ways, back to Kolkata this time, nominating him from the prestigious Ballygunge seat.
"We are sure of Sovan da's victory; we have been winning Ballygunge since 2006, when the Left Front won 235 seats," said Ranjit Sen, a TMC worker in the area.
The BJP nominated journalist Swapan Dasgupta from Rashbehari to challenge TMC sitting MLA Debasish Kumar.
Left Front associate CPI(ML) Liberation has fielded Manas Ghosh and the Congress' candidate is Asutosh Chatterjee.
The Income Tax authorities raided Debasish Kumar's residence and election offices on April 17 over alleged income declaration mismatch, while the Enforcement Directorate (ED) earlier issued him a summons regarding a land deal case.
These actions came for criticism by Banerjee, who claimed that the BJP was using central agencies to browbeat TMC candidates and deter them from campaigning.
"We will surely retain Rashbehari, Debasish Kumar has worked extensively in the area," TMC worker Ratan Das told PTI.
Dasgupta, a former Rajya Sabha MP nominated by the BJP, has been toiling hard, making house visits and addressing public meetings, to wrest the seat, which has traditionally been a TMC stronghold.
The TMC has been winning the Rashbehari constituency since 1998, where Sovandeb Chattopadhyay served as the party's MLA from 1998 until Kumar became the candidate in 2021.
"Anti-incumbency is very strong this time and we are more than hopeful of winning in Rashbehari, given the TMC's syndicate raj and goons ruling the roost," said Manas Sarkar, a BJP supporter in the area.