 "West Bengal, election, Mamata Banerjee, TMC, Deepa Dasmunsi, Chandra Bose")
Voting for the crucial fifth phase of Assembly elections in West Bengal began Saturday in which a number of heavyweights, including Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, are in the fray.
Altogether 349 candidates, including 43 women, are trying their luck in today's election across three districts - Kolkata South, South 24 Parganas and Hooghly.
About 1.2 crore voters are eligible to cast their votes at over 14,500 polling booths from 7 am to 6 pm. However, one is to pinpoint at a constituency that has the most prestige attached to it, it's the Bhowanipore constituency. A look at the candiates in this three-way battle that promises to be the state's own version of Hunger Games.
Read more from our special coverage on "VOTING"
Sitting MLA: Mamata Banerjee (TMC)
Mamata Banerjee
Party: Trinamool Congress
The ‘Didi’ of Bengal created history when she overthrew the 34-year-old CPI(M) regime in 2011 with a 54,000 vote margin.
Mamata’s supremacy in the state is being countered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress-Left alliance, where Modi once called her government, “Terror, Maut and Corruption ki Sarkar.”
Despite the prevailing Modi wave, her party had won majority Lok Sabha seats from the state and this gives her an impetus over her competitors.
Strength: It’s her home turf and she has never lost any election. She is known to be pro-farmer, pro-poor, and her popularity amongst the Muslim population could turn in her favour.
Weakness: Certain factors might slim her chances, including Saradha scam followed by Narada news sting, the violence at Malda and the repercussions of Tata Motors pulling out of Singur, and anti-incumbency, all of which happened right under her nose. Also, no big-ticket investments have been announced in the last five years
Deepa Dasmunsi
Party: Congress
All India Congress Committee (AICC) shocked everyone by fielding Deepa Dasmunsi who upstaged O P Mishra– a professor of Jadavpur University and an eminent member of Congress. While some political experts say the decision has been influenced by the Gandhi family, some opine that in 2014 Lok Sabha polls, TMC put up a relative of Dasmunsi to fight against Deepa Dasmunsi, making it a four cornered contest for Rajganj seat.
Strength: As a known foe of Mamata, Deepa has been meeting CPI(M) leaders and party cadres to garner votes and mobilise their support. Her strength lies in her determination to fight till the end, and she has nothing to lose.
Weakness: In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Deepa lost to Md. Salim of CPI(M) by a meagre margin of about 1,634 votes. Mamata's master stroke Pabitra Ranjan Dasmunsi had received 192,000 votes, which had split the vote bank.
Chandra Kumar Bose
Party: BJP
After studying economics from Hendrix College London in 1982, Chandra Kumar Bose had joined Tata Management Training Centre in Jamshedpur, followed by working as a market executive in Kolkata.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had declassified 100 files on Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose on 23 January, the day Chandra Kumar Bose joined the BJP in a public meeting in Howrah.
Strength: Being the grand nephew of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and grandson of Sarat Chandra Bose, elder brother of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, he has an emotional leverage over the state that gives importance to traditional heritage. He is also known for propagating secularism.
Weakness: TMC leaders are not upbeat about it as its MP Sugata Bose also bears roots to Netaji’s clan. Moreover, he is making a debut in politics that too through BJP, a party still not very popular in West Bengal. He might grab eyeballs and create buzz, but lose the campaign eventually.
Who might win?
Barring a catastrophe, Mamata will most likely have a smooth sail to victory as anti-TMC votes will be split between Netaji’s kin and Dasmunsi, independent observers and political analysts say.
