Kolkata: Although the Bijpur Assembly election is shaping up as a multi-cornered fight involving Trinamool Congress (TMC), BJP, CPI(M) and Congress, the electoral landscape, however, remains fundamentally bipolar with a direct high-stakes battle likely between the ruling party in the state
and saffron camp.
After seven years, BJP’s Sudipto Das entered Bijpur ahead of polls following a Calcutta High Court order. An accused in TMC worker Raju Kurmi’s murder, Das had been arrested and later granted bail; his entry into the Bijpur police station area had earlier been restricted by court order.
Das had appealed to the court seeking permission to enter Bijpur and after the court’s nod, he started his campaign.
Claiming that he was falsely booked, the BJP candidate expressed his confidence that the people of Bijpur will give a befitting reply by voting against the “conspiracy” hatched against him.
TMC’s candidate and sitting MLA Subodh Adhikary was, however, not ready to accept Das as a formidable opposition. “The elections in Bijpur will be held on the basis of development, like any other Constituency of Bengal. CPI(M) candidate will come second this time and not the BJP,” Adhikary added.
In a significant development, Halisahar TMC leader Raju Sahani recently joined the BJP, with the party claiming his influence could boost its prospects. Meanwhile, the BJP candidate met Subhranshu Roy at his residence, calling it a “courtesy meeting”.
CPI(M)’s Debasish Rakshit and Congress’ Sibabrata Guha Roy are also in the fray. The constituency’s composition underscores its urban character, as it comprises the Kanchrapara and Halisahar municipalities. This is one of the seven Assembly segments under the Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat. TMC’s Partha Bhowmick, who won the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Barrackpore seat had a lead of 9,671 votes from Bijpur Assembly segment over his nearest rival BJP’s Arjun Singh.
Since 2011, the TMC has won the seat thrice consecutively. Subhranshu Roy claimed victories in 2011 and 2016 for TMC, defeating CPI(M)’s Nirjharini Chakraborty and Rabindra Nath Mukherjee by margins of 12,612 and 47,954 votes, respectively. Roy’s 2017 switch to the BJP led to his suspension from TMC. Contesting on a BJP ticket in 2021, he lost to TMC Subodh Adhikary by 13,247 votes.
Bijpur had 192,316 registered voters in 2021, up from 185,133 in 2019 and 179,608 in 2016. Scheduled Castes account for about 20.49 per cent of the electorate, while Muslims form roughly six per cent.