Chowringhee

(Top) Trinamul candidate Nayana Bandyopadhyay campaigns in Chowringhee along with actor-MP Dev; BJP nominee Ritesh Tiwari (extreme right) campaigns with actor and party member George Baker

History

The Chowringhee of 2014 is different from that represented in the Assembly by the likes of Bijay Singh Nahar, Bidhan Chandra Roy, Siddhartha Shankar Ray, Sisir Bose and Anil Chatterjee. Located in the heart of Calcutta, Chowringhee stands out as a cosmopolitan constituency with a multi-lingual, multi-religious and varied socio-economic background

Why the bypoll Shikha Mitra resigned as Trinamul Congress MLA and quit the party

Candidates Nayana Bandyopadhyay (Trinamul Congress), Ritesh Tiwari (BJP), Santosh Pathak (Congress) and Faiyyaz Ahmed Khan (CPM)

voters

Around 1.99 lakh

Pre-poll arithmetic

Trinamul had won the seat in alliance with the Congress by over 50,000 votes in 2011. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress led in the Assembly segment by over 1,500 votes.

High stakes

Trinamul: At a time several Trinamul “associates” are being questioned by the CBI in connection with the Saradha case, Chowringhee is a must-win for the ruling party. A victory will give Trinamul a chance to hit back at its detractors. Losing a seat in the heart of Calcutta will set alarm bells ringing before next year’s Calcutta Municipal Corporation polls.

BJP: Following the sharp rise in its vote share in the Lok Sabha polls and increased political activity in the state, the party is fast becoming the main Opposition force in Bengal. A win will set the direction for its Mission 2016, a plan to win the Assembly polls that year.

Congress: The slender 1,500-plus lead gives the party the edge. The Congress has to prove that the Grand Old Party has not been reduced to a signboard, as is often claimed by Trinamul leaders.

CPM: Finished fourth in the Lok Sabha polls in the Assembly segment. Will be happy if the party nominee can ensure a split in the minority vote bank, which has so far rallied behind Trinamul.

Key people

Iqbal Ahmed, Trinamul MLA and councillor of ward 62, a part of the Chowringhee Assembly seat. The Congress had a lead in the ward in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Ahmed has to recover ground to prove to the leadership that he still calls the shots in the area.

Eyes will also be on former state Congress president Somen Mitra — how he mobilises his forces in the Sealdah belt on poll day. Mitra, who unsuccessfully contested the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, had a lead in the Chowringhee Assembly segment of the Calcutta North Lok Sabha seat.

Pradip Ghosh, a Congress leader who has defected to the BJP, wields clout in the Bowbazar-Kolay market area. Ahead of the 2015 CMC elections, Ghosh has to prove his mettle to his new party.

Focus area

Ward 62, which has a minority population of over 90 per cent.

Opposition Allegations The BJP, Congress and the CPM have accused Trinamul of ferrying supporters from other parts of Calcutta, such as Beliaghata, Narkeldanga, Rajabazar, Watgunge and Kidderpore, to intimidate voters during the campaign. “Bike-borne youths are making rounds. Police are doing nothing,” said Ashfaque Ahmed, a local Congress leader. The Opposition alleged that Trinamul-backed goons planned to target booths in Ripon Street, Park Street, Elliot Road, Collin Street and Taltala. Trinamul denied the allegations.

“The BJP has brought musclemen from Uttar Pradesh. But it is not going to work,” said MLA Ahmed.

Force deployment

15 companies. Roughly 1,400 central force personnel in 222 booths — around 50 per cent of which have been categorised sensitive and highly sensitive. The personnel will also patrol the area.

Basirhat South

(Top) Trinamul candidate Dipendu Biswas (in first row, hands folded) campaigns in Basirhat South with (from left) Shanku Deb Panda, Jyotipriya Mullick and Mukul Roy. BJP nominee Samik Bhattacharya (right) with Rahul Sinha

History

Basirhat South was carved out of the erstwhile Basirhat constituency during delimitation in 2008. The constituency now has the Taki and Basirhat municipalities, in addition to four gram panchayats.

Why the bypoll

The by-election has been necessitated by the death of sitting CPM legislator Niranjan Mukherjee in April.

Candidates

Dipendu Biswas (Trinamul), Samik Bhattacharya (BJP), Mrinal Chakraborty (CPM) and Asit Majumdar (Congress).

voters

Around 2.35 lakh

Pre-poll arithmetic

In the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP led by over 30,000 votes in the Basirhat South Assembly segment of the Basirhat parliamentary seat. In 2011, despite the wave of change in the rest of North 24-Parganas, the CPM’s Mukherjee had won the Basirhat South seat by a margin of 12,400 votes.

High stakes

BJP: Despite the 37 per cent minority votes in the constituency, the party had polled over 76,000 votes. Bhattacharya, who had contested the general election as well, says the minorities, too, have “fallen victim” to alleged Trinamul atrocities. If the BJP fails to win the seat despite the lead, Mission 2016 will be difficult to achieve.

Trinamul: The ruling party has established its hegemony in rural Bengal in successive polls since the 2011 Assembly elections. A win in Basirhat South will reaffirm Trinamul’s control in rural Bengal and boost the confidence of cadres at a time the Saradha controversy has hit Trinamul hard.

CPM: The organisation is in tatters, with workers switching to the BJP in hordes. Although the CPM had won the seat in the 2011 Assembly elections, the party nominee had finished third in the Basirhat South Assembly segment in the parliamentary polls this year. The biggest challenge for the party is to arrest its slide, a tough task in the current scenario.

Congress: The party is banking on the charisma of the candidate, Majumdar.

Key people

Never before has Trinamul all-India general secretary Mukul Roy campaigned so extensively for a bypoll. Food minister Jyotipriya Mullick and Bhatpara MLA Arjun Singh also campaigned.

Focus area

The predominantly minority areas under the Satchura-Bagunda and Gacha-Aharpur gram panchayats, which both Trinamul and the BJP are eyeing.

Opposition Allegations

The BJP’s Bhattacharya alleged Trinamul supporters from different parts of North 24-Parganas, such as Hingalgunj, Haroa, Gaighata, Naihati and Barrackpore, had entered Basirhat South.

“They are trying to intimidate voters in Taki, Basirhat town and their adjoining areas by bringing in outsiders,” Bhattacharya said.

Force deployment

23 companies of central forces — around 2,200 personnel — have been deployed in the 285 booths, of which 60 per cent have been declared sensitive.

Compiled by Arnab Ganguly and Barun Ghosh.
Pictures by Amit Datta, Sanat Kr Sinha and Sanjib Chaki