Lok Sabha poll: BJP zeroes in on Balurghat

BJP believes that their performance in last month’s rural polls has cemented its position as the main opposition in the state by relegating the CPI (M) and the Congress to distant third and fourth positions respectively.

With no alliances in place, the constituency is set to witness a four-cornered fight.

The state BJP leadership has mainly prioritised the Balurghat Lok Sabha constituency and is looking for every means to take over it. The absence of a partnership will likely be disastrous for both the communist party and the Congress – and beneficial to the BJP.

However, after filing her nomination, sitting MP and TMC candidate Arpita Ghosh said, "BJP will not be a factor here. We have targeted 42 seats in Bengal. We are the soldiers of Mamata Banerjee who has been working relent- lessly for the common people since 2011.”

“ BJP only believes in division between people while for us, people are our strength. Our party will be the decisive faction while forming the new government at the Centre," she said.

Mr Ghosh said that cultural-minded people stay in Balurghat and there is no place for the BJP.

She pointed out that, “For 40 years, this was under the Left and hence you can understand how much the people are political-minded. This is the place of Mamata Banerjee. BJP cannot win by bringing anyone here.”

Balurghat constituency will go to polls in the Third Phase of general elections on April 23

In 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidates Arpita Ghosh defeated Revolutionary Socialist Party’s (RSP) Bimalendu Sarkar to break the Left party’s hold over this parliamentary constituency.

The Revolutionary Socialist Party had held the seat, reserved for members of Scheduled Caste communities till 2009, from 1977. Palash Burman won the Lok Sabha election that year after defeating Congress’ Rasendranath Barman to continue till 1996 when his party colleague Ranen Burman won the seat.

In the previous Lok Sabha elections, TMC candidates Arpita Ghosh defeated his nearest RSP opponent Bimalendu Sarkar by 1,06,964 votes

TMC candidate Arpita Ghosh got 4, 09,641 votes, RSP candidate Bimalendu Sarkar got 3, 02, 677 votes. The BJP finished third in the table with its candidate Biswapriya Roy Choudhury got 2, 23,014 votes and Indian National Congress (INC) candidate Omprakash Mishra finished fourth with 80,715 votes

The TMC got 39.86 per cent vote share while the RSP got 29.45 per cent. The BJP received 21.70 per cent of vote share and the INC 7.85 per cent.

The ruling TMC has fielded Arpita Ghosh from this constituency once again who is pitted against, RSP candidate Ranen Barman, BJP candidate Sukanta Mujumdar and INC candidate Abdus Sadeq Sarkar.

As per the Election Commission data in 2019, total number of electorate in Balurghat Lok Sabha seat is 14,27, 567 of which 7,34,794 are male, 692716 female and 57 third genders voters. A total number of 1530 polling stations would be set up for voting.

As per order of the Delimitation Commission in respect of the delimitation of constituencies in the West Bengal, parliamentary constituency no. 6 Balurghat is composed of the seven assembly segments such as Itahar, Kushmandi, Kumarganj, Balurghat, Tapan, Gangarampur, Harirampur.

Balurghat is the headquarters of the Dakshin Dinajpur district. It has for long been known for its distinguished taste in culture, especially theatre. It is the birthplace of Natyacharya Manmatha Ray. The town is well known for its cleanliness and culture.