Ranjan Shil Sharma, the Trinamool Congress candidate for the Dabgram-Fulbari Assembly seat in Jalpaiguri district, on Thursday took blessings from Sikha Chatterjee, the sitting MLA and the BJP nominee of the same seat, before formally launching his campaign for the Assembly elections.

Sharma visited Chatterjee’s residence at Madhya Shantinagar in Siliguri, carrying a bouquet, a scarf and sweets. Addressing her as “mother,” he took her blessings.

“I have blessed him because our personal relationship remains unchanged. However, this is a righteous battle where eventually, the good will win,” said Chatterjee.

In 2021, Chatterjee won the Dabgram-Fulbari seat by defeating senior Trinamool leader and the then state tourism minister Gautam Deb by a margin of over 27,000 votes.

While acknowledging Sharma’s gesture, Chatterjee also took a swipe at Trinamool.

“He came to me out of respect for a mother-son relationship. Unfortunately, I could not influence his political thinking. By fielding him against me, Trinamool has tried to strain that relationship. This reflects its tendency to adopt such strategies after electoral setbacks,” she said.

Sharma, who is also the Trinamool councillor of ward 36 of the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC), has been fielded for the first time from Dabgram-Fulbari

The constituency has 14 SMC wards, which were once considered the strongholds of the BJP, following Chatterjee’s victory in 2021.

However, the political landscape has since shifted. In the 2022 civic polls, Trinamool secured a majority in all the 14 wards. Additionally, the party performed well in the rural elections, winning three of four panchayats in Jalpaiguri district. The four panchayats are in the Assembly segment.

Asked about his meeting with Chatterjee, Sharma said: “I address her as ‘Ma’ and have known her for years. I deemed it necessary to meet her and seek her blessings before launching my campaign.”

Sharma underscored a series of development projects undertaken during Deb’s tenure as the MLA from 2011 to 2021. They included improvements in road infrastructure, the underground drainage system in Shantinagar, the North Bengal Wild Animal Park, and the establishment of a land registry office.

He alleged development projects had largely stalled over the past five years in Dabgram-Fulbari. “Most of the projects were completed before 2021. If elected, I will push for the creation of a civic body for the Dabgram-Fulbari area,” Sharma said.