: “The Trinamool Congress is expected to lead significantly, with the announcement of Nisith Pramanik as the BJP candidate,” stated district Trinamool Congress president Abhijit De Bhowmick during a press conference held at the Cooch Behar district Trinamool Congress office on Sunday.
The BJP unveiled its first-phase list of candidates on Saturday, revealing 20 candidates for Bengal. Among them, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nishit Pramanik has been re-nominated for the Cooch Behar Lok Sabha constituency.
A joining programme at the Cooch Behar district TMC office on Sunday welcomed five Independent Panchayat members into the Trinamool Congress fold. Abhijit De Bhowmik along with vice-president Abdul Jalil Ahmed and others, formally inducted the new members by presenting them with the party flag.
Abhijit De Bhowmick said: “We had hoped that the BJP’s candidate announcement would align with our expectations. However, the BJP’s central leadership, which selected Nisith Pramanik as their candidate, has been absent from the local scene for the past five years.
Despite promises made during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, such as the recognition of the Rajbanshi language as an eighth scheduled language and commitments ranging from the construction of Bir Chila Roy’s statue to the Narayani Battalion, none have been fulfilled.
The BSF is reportedly mistreating civilians in border areas, contributing to a decline in support for Pramanik. Moreover, the entrenched leadership of the BJP persists. We urge everyone to consider Mamata Banerjee, the TMC candidate, and believe that the people will choose TMC in the upcoming elections.”