Mamata Banerjee has announced the candidates for all 42 seats in West Bengal for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. TMC has handed tickets to former cricketers Yusuf Pathan and Kirti Azad, but the curious twist lies in the party's decision to field three 'outsiders' in the electoral fray, making a statement against its usual rhetoric.
The Trinamool Congress has repeatedly attacked the BJP for being anti-Bengal, especially post the rise of BJP in Bengal after 2019 elections.
Controversy of Bengali vs. outsiders
At a rally in Kolkata, Abhishek Banerjee, second-in-command in TMC, again took aim at the BJP by placing 'Bengali versus outsider' as the central theme of the elections.
He stated, 'Thieves used to go to jail. But now they flock to the BJP with Modi's guarantee. On the other side is a woman living in a tin-roofed house, still wearing rubber sandals. What does Bengal want? Modi or Didi? Son of Bengal soil or an outsider?
Bharatiya Janata Party IT cell chief Amit Malviya responded to the declaration of 'outsider' candidates by the TMC for the Lok Sabha elections, questioning Yusuf Pathan's candidacy from Berhampore, 'Is Yusuf Pathan from Gujarat's Baroda or from West Bengal? Outsiders are listed in BJP's ranks, TMC should be ashamed of its divisive politics.'
Where will Yusuf, Kirti, and Shatrughan Sinha contest?
TMC has positioned Yusuf Pathan from Berhampore, raising speculations on a showdown with Congress heavyweight, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. BJP has already finalized Dr. Nirmal Kumar Saha for the Berhampore constituency.
Former Indian all-rounder Kirti Azad has been allocated the Durgapur seat by TMC, where BJP's SS Ahluwalia is the current MP. Kirti Azad, having served three terms as the Darbhanga MP with BJP, joined Congress and contested the 2019 election from Dhanbad, although unsuccessfully, then later joined TMC.
Shatrughan Sinha, re-nominated from Asansol, won the 2022 Lok Sabha by-election as a TMC candidate.
Why did the alliance crumble?
Several reasons are cited for the split of the India Block in West Bengal. A predominant reason for the failure of the TMC-Congress alliance seems to be Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's overt criticism of Mamata since 2023, with Mamata keen on not giving him a free pass. This particularly points to TMC's decision to go solo in Bengal's elections, a shock to Congress, following its repeated rejections of Mamata's suggestions on the public stage, culminating in her decision to contest independently.
