Kolkata: In a major setback for TMC chief Mamata Banerjee – sitting Lok Sabha MP from Barrackpore Dinesh Trivedi lost the seat to BJP’s Arjun Singh in 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Ahead of the fifth phase of Lok Sabha polls in seven seats including Barrackpore in Bengal on May 6 – the former Railway Minister had expressed his confidence over winning his seat comfortably against BJP’s Arjun Singh – whom he considered a non-factor.
“I don’t want to react to nonsense thing. This is a nonsense issue in my seat,” Trivedi had said when asked whether Arjun Singh (TMC Bhatpara MLA who joined BJP recently) will be a big challenge to him in Barrackpore or not.
On March 14, Mamata Banerjee received a major setback after TMC strongman Arjun Singh had joined the BJP after he was denied ticket for the Lok Sabha Poll.
When contacted Arjun Singh, said, “He (Dinesh Trivedi) lost his connect with the local people here. I told you earlier also and again I am telling you… Do you think a person - who cleans his palm with sanitizer after shaking hands with ‘janta’ – will be able to understand their problem/pain?”
Singh is an extremely popular leader in Bhatpara as well as in all the seven constituents - Amdanga, Bijpur, Naihati, Bhatpara, Jagatdal, Noapara and Barrackpore - of this Lok Sabha constituency from where Mamata has given the ticket to sitting MP Dinesh Trivedi and not to Singh.
In Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency, a sizable number of voters (nearly 37%) – who emerged as a decisive factor - are Hindi speaking (from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh) and Singh being the game changer holds the key in the area.
Singh worked hard in the ground level to mobilize Hindi speaking voters in his favour. He has been the game changer for TMC but with his switch to BJP, it was predicted that will not be an easy task for Dinesh Trivedi to win the seat this time.
Party insider claimed that Singh has a very good relation (above party line) with all the MLAs of Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituents (Amdanga, Bijpur, Naihati, Bhatpara, Jagatdal, Noapara and Barrackpore). This (coupled with solid Hindi speaking vote base) helped Singh to create a comfortable space for him to fight against Dinesh Trivedi.
Trivedi - who had to resign as Union Railway Minister in 2012 after his proposed passenger fare hike angered Mamata Banerjee – could not make it to the third term.
Trivedi became the most valuable leader of the party after he had defeated Tarit Topdar, a six-time sitting CPI (M) MP by 56,024 votes in 2009. Since 1951, CPI (M) had won Barrackpore seat nine times.
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