 "Campaign ends for first phase of polls in West Bengal")
Campaign for four seats in the first phase of five-phase Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal ended today with the Darjeeling constituency grabbing the limelight as one of the most closely fought constituencies in the state.
Apart from Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar and Alipurduars constituencies would go for elections on April 17, marking the commencement of elections for 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
A total of 6,014,258 voters, of whom 3,114,184 are male and 2,900,024 are female, would get the opportunity to exercise their franchise in this phase of elections for the seats in North Bengal covering the Hills, Terai, Dooars and also the plains in Cooch Behar.
With none of the major parties willing to give away an inch without fight, a number of top national leaders have campaigned in these constituencies.
While BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi addressed a huge rally at Siliguri, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi attended a workers’ meet in the Dooars.
Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee has criss-crossed the constituencies, holding a number of rallies in favour of her party candidates.
Though the TMC has never won any of these North Bengal seats going to polls on April 17, it is banking on the good show of the 2011 Assembly elections and is making an all-out effort to open its account in this area.
The CPI (M) has, however, kept its campaign in these constituencies low key and has depended on the candidates and local leaders to spearhead the campaign.
In Darjeeling, it is likely to be a direct fight between the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha-supported BJP candidate and the Trinamool Congress, with a few other candidates likely to make a small but crucial dent.
While the TMC has fielded former India football captain Bhaichung Bhutia, the BJP has brought in S S Ahluwalia for the Darjeeling seat, which constitutes three Assembly segments in the Hills and four segments in the plains.
In the 2009 general elections, the seat was won by BJP, while the other three were won by the Left Front.
While RSP has fielded sitting MP Manohar Tirkey from Alipurduars, CPI (M)’s incumbent in Jalpaiguri seat Mahendra Roy has also been fielded. The BJP has, however, replaced Jaswant Singh for the Darjeeling seat and fielded S S Ahluwalia, while the Forward Bloc has also changed its sitting MP and fielded Dipak Kumar Roy from Cooch Behar, replacing Nipendra Nath Roy.
Apart from Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar and Alipurduars constituencies would go for elections on April 17, marking the commencement of elections for 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
A total of 6,014,258 voters, of whom 3,114,184 are male and 2,900,024 are female, would get the opportunity to exercise their franchise in this phase of elections for the seats in North Bengal covering the Hills, Terai, Dooars and also the plains in Cooch Behar.
Also Read
A total of 47 candidates are in the fray for the four constituencies, where tough fights are expected in a mainly four-cornered contest.
With none of the major parties willing to give away an inch without fight, a number of top national leaders have campaigned in these constituencies.
While BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi addressed a huge rally at Siliguri, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi attended a workers’ meet in the Dooars.
Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee has criss-crossed the constituencies, holding a number of rallies in favour of her party candidates.
Though the TMC has never won any of these North Bengal seats going to polls on April 17, it is banking on the good show of the 2011 Assembly elections and is making an all-out effort to open its account in this area.
The CPI (M) has, however, kept its campaign in these constituencies low key and has depended on the candidates and local leaders to spearhead the campaign.
In Darjeeling, it is likely to be a direct fight between the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha-supported BJP candidate and the Trinamool Congress, with a few other candidates likely to make a small but crucial dent.
While the TMC has fielded former India football captain Bhaichung Bhutia, the BJP has brought in S S Ahluwalia for the Darjeeling seat, which constitutes three Assembly segments in the Hills and four segments in the plains.
In the 2009 general elections, the seat was won by BJP, while the other three were won by the Left Front.
While RSP has fielded sitting MP Manohar Tirkey from Alipurduars, CPI (M)’s incumbent in Jalpaiguri seat Mahendra Roy has also been fielded. The BJP has, however, replaced Jaswant Singh for the Darjeeling seat and fielded S S Ahluwalia, while the Forward Bloc has also changed its sitting MP and fielded Dipak Kumar Roy from Cooch Behar, replacing Nipendra Nath Roy.