Around 90 kilometres away from Kolkata, West Bengal’s Tamluk in East Midnapore district has been in focus for decades, with more than one events making it special, historic and relevant.
Tamluk saw the formation of India’s first people’s government — Tamralipta Jatiya Sarkar — under British rule in 1943 during the ‘Quit India’ movement. It also saw the Nandigram anti-land acquisition movement spearheaded by Mamata Banerjee to drive out the proposed Special Economic Zone. It saw Banerjee’s Trinamool destabilising CPM’s erstwhile Red citadel in the area and also saw the state’s chief minister losing from the battleground that made her a force to reckon with — Nandigram.
Tamluk is now bracing for another fierce electoral battle, which has turned into a prestige war between BJP’s Abhijit Ganguly, a judge-turned-politician, and Trinamool Congress’ Debanshu Bhattacharya, a youth leader of the party.
The constituency saw one of India’s bloodiest anti-land acquisition movements in Nandigram. Not only did it change the Union government’s policy towards the Special Economic Zones and land acquisition rules, but transformed Bengal’s politics forever.
Nandigram gave the much-needed fillip to Banerjee’s rise as the chief minister in 2011. Simultaneously, the land movement also gave a mighty politician to the state — Suvendu Adhikari. Once Didi’s trusted lieutenant in the party, who is said to have chalked out the blueprint of the movement under her supervision, Adhikari is now her ‘Enemy No. 1’ in the state. The hatred runs so deep that the chief minister addressed him as ‘Gaddar’ (traitor), and he retaliated by calling her ‘Chor’ (thief) in public.
Even though Ganguly and Bhattacharya have been pitted against each other on the ground, in reality, the battle of nerves is between Mamata Banerjee and her erstwhile protégé, who defected to the BJP after the 2019 elections and defeated her in Nandigram in the 2021 elections.
Political ‘hotbed’ for decades
Tamluk has seen a pattern of control by one party as always. From 1980 and until 2004, Tamluk voted for the CPM for 24 years and through eight elections, barring a brief break, when Congress won the seat for once in 1996. From 2009, it voted for Trinamool Congress.
Adhikari was a two-term MP until he moved to the state cabinet in 2016 and handed over the mantle to his brother Dibyendu. From being the Red fort of the CPM, Tamluk turned into the impenetrable bastion of Trinamool Congress. However, since 2019, a lot has changed in Bengal politics and its party structures. This election will determine whether Tamluk still stands with Trinamool and Didi, or is aligned to its ‘bhumi putra’ Adhikari.
Adhikari defeated Banerjee in Nandigram in the 2021 assembly elections by a thin margin of around 1,200- 1,400 votes, and the win had triggered a huge controversy then. The fight between these two leaders propelled Nandigram to the spotlight in 2021, and it remained so. However, political observers say the region saw two fierce men — CPM’s Lakshman Seth who ruled the area for over 24 years, and Adhikari, who has been calling the shots since 2009.
However, Adhikari was in for a crude shock when Trinamool wrested four of the seven assembly constituencies that come under Tamluk in 2021. The saving grace for him was how he defeated Banerjee in Nandigram.
Nandigram is one of the seven assembly segments that are part of Tamluk Lok Sabha seat. Adhikari is said to have promised his party that he would retain his control over the seat and make former judge Ganguly win. Ganguly resigned from his position last month and was fielded as the BJP candidate from Nandigram. Trinamool has fielded one of its young leaders, Debanshu Bhattacharya, who is known to be close to Abhishek Banerjee, the party’s national general secretary and the nephew of Mamata Banerjee.
Talking to News 18, while campaigning in Nandigram, Bhattacharya said: “I may not be a resident of this place, but I know this area well. I worked here during the 2021 elections, and held over 70 meetings across segments and villages. We all know that this is a tough fight and a prestige battle for the party. I am grateful to our leaders — Didi and Abhishek — for trusting me with this prestigious seat. I will try to live up to their trust and put my best efforts into this.”
He added: “Adhikari and his family run a rule of fear psychosis in the area exactly like the CPM’s Lakshman Seth did. His empire of crime and intimidation fell. Adhikari will fall too, it is a matter of time.”
Impact of the SSC scam judgment
Stakes are very high for both parties. This is the first election for Ganguly, the former judge of Calcutta High Court. Ganguly was fielded from Tamluk, which BJP leaders call a ‘safe’ seat, as it is Adhikari’s stronghold. Ganguly, who ordered the CBI inquiry into the state’s School Service Commission scam, and passed several orders which adversely affected the government, is new to politics.
The scam, the investigation and the high court’s orders related to the scam — including the one that landed on Monday cancelling the recruitment of almost 25,000 teachers recruited by the state in 2016 — have rocked the state’s politics. Ganguly’s electoral performance in Tamluk is set to make or break his political career, say political experts in the state.
However, Trinamool sees an advantage too. “The judgment of the Calcutta High Court on Monday will play out as an advantage for us. Anyone who takes someone’s job cannot be loved or respected. This judgment made our work easier. People will uproot them from Tamluk,” Bhattacharya added.
Ganguly feels otherwise. “This treacherous government headed by Mamata Banerjee must resign immediately. The government has done grave injustice to people of the state. They sold employment to some people who are not even eligible and earned huge amounts of money. The eligible candidates, Hindus and Muslims, were deprived,” he told News18 before heading out to the local temple to pray for both communities.
Muslims, Mahila & Might
Of seven assembly constituencies — Nandigram, Nandakumar, Moyna, Haldia, Panshkura Purba, Mahisadal and Tamluk — that form Tamluk Lok Sabha, four were won by Trinamool, while three voted for BJP. The margin was comfortable for Trinamool Congress. However, politics is a process and it never remains constant, while the equations between the voters and the politicians keep changing.
Apart from several other factors which dominate the elections here, the crucial ones include Mahila [women] and Muslims. It has been the combination of women votes and Muslim consolidation that led Trinamool’s victory in four seats in 2021. Tamluk Lok Sabha seat has around 14-15 per cent of Muslim vote share and that, according to political experts, may consolidate in favour of Trinamool Congress yet again.
However, Adhikari has plans to crack the code. A team of his local leaders has now started making an outreach among the Muslims voters in the area. The leaders in Nandigram and in other segments hosted Iftar parties for the local Muslim leaders and clerics, News18 has learnt. The outreach is working at some levels, as the locals claim. Adhikari’s plans involved more thrust on the Hindu-dominated assembly segments and raising the share of Muslim voters who supported him in Nandigram.
“Muslims are not expected to vote for the BJP after so many atrocities meted out to the community. Didi has always looked after us, sheltered us if needed. But, money and muscle are playing an important role here. Suvendu babu and his henchmen are out to woo our brothers as well. We see how his men are hosting the Iftar party, distributing cash and goodies among them to get their votes,” said Aspar Hussain, a Trinamool worker in Ratanpur village in Nandigram.
The women voters, however, are still abuzz about Didi’s ‘Lakshmi Bhandar’ scheme in which they get a monthly allowance of Rs 500. “We will vote for the party that will take care of us. Lakshmi Bhandar has been a great support to us and our families. We keep hearing about atrocities on women here and there, but we need to think about our families too,” said Namita Manna, a resident of Tamluk. Significantly, the cash schemes for women voters — Lakshmi Bhandar, Kanyashree and Rupashree — have worked wonders for the chief minister.
Even though the Muslim factor and the women’s votes play an important role across districts in Bengal, the local leaders of all parties claim that the political might of parties on the day of polling rules it.
Ram Kayal, a local BJP leader in Nandakumar, said: “There are factors and Muslims and Mahila are the most important ones. But here, the party who shows might and manages a booth on the day’s poll, wins the race. Adhikari is an expert in that. He is loved by the voters too. We just need to ensure that the villagers can reach the booths and cast their votes. We need to build resistance to Trinamool’s mercenaries.”
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