The Balurghat Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal's Dakshin Dinajpur district is gearing up for a closely contested electoral battle between BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar and TMC veteran and state minister Biplab Mitra.
In his electoral debut in 2019, Majumdar secured 5,39,317 votes, establishing a lead of 33,293 votes and wresting the seat from TMC's Arpita Ghosh. This time, he is pitted against Trinamool Congress' Biplab Mitra, the state's consumer affairs minister, who won the Harirampur assembly seat in 2021 on a TMC ticket after a brief association with the BJP in 2019.
Balurghat, located in northern West Bengal, will vote in the second phase on April 26. Majumdar is confident of a clean sweep for the BJP, as he asserts, "It will be a clean sweep for the BJP this year, banking on Narendra Modi's development and good governance plank in contrast with the corruption charges against the TMC and the atrocities committed on women in Sandeshkhali. People of Balurghat, like the rest of West Bengal, will decisively vote for Modiji."
The BJP state president, a former professor, believes his initiatives to bring Balurghat and adjoining areas of north Bengal on the railway map, with the introduction of the Sealdah-Balurghat Express and other trains, will help him win by a margin of over one lakh votes.
"Previously, none had thought about bringing Balurghat on the railway map and boosting its connectivity. This was made possible by Modiji and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Dakshin Dinajpur had been neglected, being a district in the interiors," he said.
Majumdar also claims that people are now aware of the "fake publicity" of the TMC regarding beneficiaries receiving funds under the Awas Yojana and the assurance of free 5-kg rice and wheat distribution.
Countering Majumdar, Mitra, a lawyer by profession, says, "Unlike BJP leaders like Majumdar, we stay with the common people throughout the year...People of West Bengal are reaping benefits of the development work initiated by the TMC government since 2011." He alleges that the Centre has withheld dues to Bengal under the MGNREGA, and the chief minister is managing funds from the state's resources to ensure that the poor are not deprived. "All the false propaganda of the BJP will be spurned by our electorate," he asserts.
Mitra was greeted by thousands of jubilant supporters during a recent visit to the Gangarampur rail station in Dakshin Dinajpur. "None of it was pre-planned. People assembled in thousands as I got down from the train, and took me out of the station in a procession," he said, hinting at his wide acceptance as a candidate for Balurghat.
Majumdar was also seen interacting with voters at various places in the constituency in the last few days. When asked if he was apprehensive about any infighting in the BJP as claimed by the TMC during campaigning, Majumdar said, "We don't have any internal squabble in the area." He also stated that the opposition INDIA bloc was of little significance and posed no challenge to the saffron party.
Balurghat, with an electorate of 12,54,497, is known for high voter turnout during polls. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the constituency recorded an impressive 83.61 per cent turnout. The seat was earlier a stronghold of the Left Front constituent RSP, which won consecutively from 1984 till 2009.