EXCLUSIVE: Ex-IPS, doctor, singer in BJP’s final list for Bengal?
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had announced its candidates for 20 seats out of a total of 42 for the state of Bengal in its first list of candidates. Shortly after this, Bhojpuri actor-singer Pawan Singh dropped himself from the race to contest as the party’s man from Asansol, citing “personal reasons”, but it came after a massive wave of outrage against him on social media regarding his songs that vilify Bengali women.
Nineteen more candidates were declared in the party’s second list of candidates for the state.
As of now, the BJP is yet to field candidates from the constituencies of Diamond Harbour, Asansol, Birbhum and Jhargram.
Sources tell us that the BJP might be eyeing a ‘Celebrity vs Celebrity’ fight in Asansol, the seat that it had won in both 2014 and 2019 and lost to the Trinamool Congress in the 2021 by-polls after the sitting MP Babul Supriyo resigned from the party and joined Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress.
Whispers in the corridor tell us that the BJP is in talks with none other than famed singer Kumar Sanu to contest against the Trinamool’s Shatrughan Sinha from the coal-belt seat.
The rationale behind fielding Babul Supriyo in 2014 and 2019 has been put into effect again, as Sanu would be acceptable both to the Bengalis and the Hindi-speaking population of the area because of the Bengali ethnicity and popularity in Bollywood, while Shatrughan will majorly appeal only to the Hindi speakers as he has no real connection to Bengal, other than acting in a couple of movies in the language–the memory of which is lost in most minds.
IPS officer Debashish Dhar may be the saffron party’s candidate from Birbhum. He recently submitted his papers to the state Chief Secretary BP Gopalika. Dhar was posted as the superintendent of police of Cooch Behar in 2021, when the district was marred by the murder of five individuals by the Central forces in Sitalkuchi. The tragedy had become a rallying point for the Trinamool Congress.
Subsequently, the Bengal CID launched an investigation against him and charges of corruption were levelled against him as it was found that his fortunes rose by nearly a hundred times between 2015 and 2017.
The BJP hasn’t declared its candidate from the Jhargram seat either, where the party’s Kunar Hembram won in 2019, but who has now resigned from its primary membership.
In all probability, Dr Pranat Tudu will be fielded from the seat. The consultant radiologist had submitted his resignation to Governor CV Ananda Bose from the post of Medical Officer (Radiology) at Jhargram Government Medical College and Hospital. He was an officer of the West Bengal Health Services.
Dr Tudu, if fielded, will contest against Trinamool’s Kalipada Soren (Kherwal), who happens to be a famed author in the Santhali language.
Shortly after his resignation was accepted, Pranat Tudu posted on his Facebook feed in Bengali, “We will meet on the streets. We will meet in the field of politics. Johar Jangalmahal.”
The fourth seat from which the BJP still hasn’t declared a candidate is Mamata Banerjee’s nephew and Trinamool Congress National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s constituency of Diamond Harbour.
While a lot of people want to contest against Abhishek, most being detractors from the Trinamool itself (who ardently want to teach Abhishek a “lesson”), the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) believes they will easily sell themselves off to the ruling party of Bengal to open their doors to rejoining their former home.
So, the RSS and the BJP old guard are vouching for its blue-eyed boy and party spokesperson, Rajarshi Lahiri.
A former corporate executive with an MBA degree, Rajarshi ticks all the boxes for a candidate who will definitely try to give a tough time to Abhishek Banerjee.
Hailing from a family with a rich history of freedom fighters and with constituent members of the ‘Bangla Pradesh Hindu Mahasabha’ and later the RSS, Lahiri is becoming well-known for his Hindutva stance and scathing speeches on television and at public meetings.
Now, whether or not these people will be fielded as BJP candidates is up to the party’s central leadership. But the truth lies in the fact that the party is running out of time as the elections are now knocking at the door.
