Soon after the Trinamul Congress announced its list of candidates for the Assembly election, a section of senior party leaders ~ from Farakka in Murshidabad to Cooch Behar ~ expressed unhappiness after being denied tickets to contest from their respective constituencies.
Although former North Bengal Development Minister Rabindranath Ghosh has not publicly aired his grievances, he reportedly spoke to several other leaders, who were also denied tickets. Mr Ghosh had wished to contest from the Natabari Assembly constituency.
Four-time MLA from Rajganj in Jalpaiguri, Khageshwar Roy, issued a 48-hour ultimatum before taking “drastic steps” after receiving calls from party representatives. Mr Roy said he was contacted by several leaders who were denied tickets, including Rabindranath Ghosh, Sourav Chakraborty, Arghya Roy Pradhan, Binaykrishna Barman and Hiten Barman from Cooch Behar. According to Mr Roy, many of them expressed deep disappointment, saying they could not continue in the party under the circumstances.
“I was defeated by money,” Mr Roy alleged, adding that he had not expected such a decision as the district party president had confirmed his candidature only hours before the official announcement. In protest, he resigned from the post of district chairman and issued a 48-hour deadline to the party leadership.
Notably, athlete Swapna Barman has been fielded from the Rajganj Assembly constituency in place of Mr Roy.
Meanwhile, former Alipurduar MLA and former chairman of the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority (SJDA), Sourav Chakraborty, posted a pointed remark on social media. “Your policy is excellent ~ insurance companies don’t have anything like this. Alipurduar has seen development worth Rs 200 crore. Let the election be held under the leadership of the person who has taken all the tenders,” he wrote.
Commenting on Mr Ghosh’s exclusion, outgoing North Bengal Development Minister Udayan Guha said it was the party’s decision and that he might be assigned other responsibilities.
Candidates fielded by the Trinamul Congress across north Bengal have already begun campaigning, primarily targeting the BJP. In Siliguri, Mayor Goutam Deb has launched his campaign, describing his candidature as his “last desire” to be elected as MLA from Siliguri to bring development according to his vision. However, a section of party insiders appeared unhappy. In the comment section of one of Mr Deb’s posts, a user listed 94 ‘negative’ points including teachers’ recruitment scam related to the present government and his role, urging voters to consider them before pressing the EVM button.
In Malda, former minister Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury, who is not contesting despite his willingness, welcomed the candidate list, calling it a strategically sound selection by party chief Mamata Banerjee and national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
On the other hand, sitting MLA from Farakka, Md Manirul Islam, who failed to secure a ticket this time has announced his decision to contest as an Independent against the official candidate. He also said he would field another candidate in Samserganj in Murshidabad.
“I have been made a scapegoat since I protested at the Farakka BDO office over the SIR exercise. I am in the hearts of the people of Farakka, and they will support me. I will contest from Farakka,” Manirul Islam said.