'BJP to face tough fight in Balurghat'

BALURGHAT: Despite having won the Balurghat seat by around 33,555 votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, BJP may have to face a tough fight in the constituency during the ensuing state Assembly polls, opined political analysts on Friday. The analysts claimed that BJP's choice of candidate for the constituency may not favour the party's fortune. According to the analysts, the BJP candidate from Balurghat — Ashok Lahiri (a celebrated economist) — lags behind in terms of local connect.

"Lahiri has no connection with Balurghat. On the contrary, TMC's Sekhar Das Gupta is the son of the soil," they opined. Das Gupta is also a popular lawyer and sportsperson. Sources in the saffron party claimed that Lahiri was a stranger to many local BJP leaders. Before the party announced its candidate for Balurghat, around 50 local BJP leaders had sent their names to the party's selection committee to contest from the seat.