Kolkata: Midnapore is one of the key Lok Sabha (LS) constituencies that promises an action-packed electoral battle with actress-turned-politician June Malia, who is already a Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA and now contesting from Midnapore is confident about her victory.
Malia during her election campaign on Tuesday in West Midnapore’s Dantan, launched an attack on the sitting BJP MP from Midnapore Dilip Ghosh for his failure to ensure wages to the 100-day workers under his constituency and to provide houses to the potential beneficiaries under Awas Yojana scheme. Echoing the voice of her party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, Malia demanded a report card from Ghosh who, she claimed, had failed to live up to people’s expectations under his constituency. “It is the duty of the sitting MP to ensure that people receive 100-day wages and the money for constructing houses under Awas Yojana. But unfortunately, he did not pay any heed to the issue. He could have raised people’s issues in Parliament.
He maintains good relations with the Prime Minister and others. I will take up people’s issues in Parliament and I will discharge all the responsibilities given to me by our party supremo Mamata Banerjee and the national general secretary,” Malia said from her rally in Dantan. She began her election campaign of the day after offering Puja at a Chandi Temple in Dantan II block on Tuesday morning. During his election rally in the district on March 16, Abhishek Banerjee said that Ghosh is often seen on Television in Eco Park amidst his morning walk but he was not concerned about the well-being of the people in his constituency.
He had said that the Bengal government had spent Rs 282 crore for paying wages to 6,10,867 100-day workers in Bengal. State has ensured Lakhshmir Bhandar to 11,99,580 beneficiaries in West Midnapore while 18,21,814 have availed Kanyashree in the district and free ration has been given to 47 lakh people in West Midnapore. BJP’s former state president, Dilip Ghosh is likely to contest LS elections from his own constituency Midnapore, sources said. The BJP is, however, yet to announce the name of the candidate for Midnapore. Ghosh had won the 2019 LS elections by a margin of 88,952 votes by defeating TMC candidate Manas Bhunia.
Another heavy-weight candidate from the same district Deepak Adhikari (Dev), a sitting MP from Ghatal who is contesting again from the same seat on a TMC ticket, during an election campaign in Sabang said that he will take another birth if required but he will ensure that Ghatal Master Plan is implemented. The implementation of the Ghatal Master Plan is a key issue in the region as people suffer difficulties during floods.
As the Centre had allegedly turned a deaf ear to Dev’s appeal to implement the master plan, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had assured that it would be implemented by the state government in 2-3 years.