KOLKATA: Three parliamentary constituencies in north Bengal -- Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar – will vote in the first phase of polling on April 19. The entire north Bengal is considered a saffron citadel with BJP winning seven seats from the region. Six of the seven seats are reserved for SC and ST. The ruling Trinamool Congress is determined to wrest it from the BJP in a largely bipolar contest.
In the three constituencies, the BJP appears to have an edge over TMC because of saffron party’s tacit support for the local sentiment for a Union Territory status for the region. In 2019, out of the total 42 seats in West Bengal, the TMC won 22 seats while the BJP 18 seats and the remaining two by the UPA. Of the 18 seats in the BJP kitty, seven were from north Bengal.
A few incidents in the past few days show the seriousness of the Trinamool-BJP rivalry. Union minister of state for home affairs Nisith Pramanik, and state minister for north Bengal development department Udayan Guha almost came to blows on the streets in Cooch Behar during rallies of the respective parties. It is clear that this constituency will witness a fierce contest between Pramanik and TMC’s Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia.
The rivalry between Guha and Pramanik has kept Cooch Behar’s Dinhata on edge ever since the latter became a BJP MP in the previous election. The cyclone on March 31 became a hot political issue as rival parties competed with each in the name of relief to the affected families. In a post on X, the TMC said: “Our Minister was on his way from Dinhata to Cooch Behar when his car was attacked and his attendant was thrashed by a group of Pramanik-backed hoodlums. As the elections draw near, the BJP’s penchant for violence has become all the more evident.”
The BJP denied the allegations, saying the attack on Guha’s convoy was a result of factional fights within the TMC. “You reap as you sow,” the saffron party countered on X.
In Jalpaiguri, TMC’s Nirmal Chandra Roy is pitted against BJP’s Jayanta Kumar Roy. Most of Jalpiaguri has a predominant population of Dalits and tribals. In 2019, BJP’s Jayant Kumar Roy won bagging 760,145 votes. TMC’s Bijoy Chandra Burman secured the second place with 576,141 votes.
Given the significance of the region, the BJP nominated Anant Rai ‘Maharaj’ as the party’s Rajya Sabha MP from West Bengal. Rai is the chief of the Greater Cooch Behar People’s Association, an outfit that has been demanding statehood or a UT status for Bengal’s Cooch Behar region, with even portions of Assam as part of it. He belongs to the electorally significant Koch-Rajbongshi community, which numbers around 3.9 million and is spread across Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri and North and South Dinajpur.
TMC chief Mamata Banerjee has taken several measures for the welfare of the Rajbongshis, such as setting up the Rajbongshi Cultural and Development Board, opening primary schools with Rajbongshi as the medium of instruction and announcing a public holiday on Rajbongshi social reformer Panchanan Barma’s birthday (February 13). The Mamata government has also promised to review the demands of tea garden workers and increasing the minimum wages.
The TMC projected a popular face among tea garden workers, Prakash Chik Baraik, as the TMC’s Rajya Sabha candidate. The BJP countered it with Rai’s candidature.
Manoj Tigga, the BJP chief whip in the Bengal Assembly, has been chosen as the party candidate for the Alipurduar seat, replacing sitting MP and Union minister John Barla. The CPM-led Left Front, which is in talks with the Congress for an alliance, has unilaterally announced candidates for the three seats.
Analysts attribute BJP’s influence in North Bengal to its support for ethnic groups such as the Gorkhas (influential in Darjeeling and the foothills), Koch-Rajbongshis (Cooch Behar, Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri) and Kamptapuris (areas bordering Assam). Since 2009, the BJP has been winning the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat with the support of the Gorkhas.
In Alipurduar, the TMC gained some ground since the 2019 Lok Sabha election. The party’s Rajya Sabha MP Prakash Chik Baraik enjoys good rapport with a section of the tribal population.
Key issues
BJP has an edge over TMC in these constituencies due to its tacit support to the local demand for a separate Union Territory for this area. Both parties lock horns over issues such as the Citizenship Amendment Act, implementation and funding of welfare projects, and the socio-economic development of the Rajbongshi community, one of the major ethnic groups of North Bengal
Jalpaiguri: Unreserved rural constituency with a literacy rate of 74%. In 2014, there were 1,531,469 voters of which 7,95,704 were male and 7,35,760 female and five of the third gender. Jalpaiguri has an estimated SC population of 49.46% and a Scheduled Tribe population of 7.68%
Cooch behar: Reserved seat has approximately 1,21,879 SC voters, which are around 45% as per the 2011 census. It houses ethnic group such as Koch-Rajbongshis, an electoraly key community
Alipurduar: A general category seat has SC votes of around 1,06,699 or 43%, according to the 2011 Census. ST voters are around 29,290, which is around 12%. Urban voters in Alipurduar are around 1,01,917 which is around 41% as per 2011 census. The TMC dominates the area since 2019 elections