Arjun Singh’s influence wanes as Barrackpore leans toward TMC

Kolkata: The once formidable image of BJP’s Arjun Singh — who has 93 criminal cases pending against him — as a ‘Bahubali’ (strongman) has diminished to the point of being inconsequential and no longer influences the voters of the Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency.

The electorate has instead been swayed by the benefits of numerous state government schemes, including the ‘Lakshmir Bhandar’ initiative, which has proven to be a groundbreaking support system for women.

The pressing question now is whether Barrackpore will re-elect turncoat Arjun Singh. The answer will become clear on June 4, after nearly 15 lakh voters cast their ballots in the fifth phase of elections on May 20.

The buzz in Barrackpore suggests that Singh’s reputation as a political turncoat might shift the tide in favour of TMC candidate, Partha Bhowmick.

Moreover, Singh may face a significant challenge in Bhatpara, considered his stronghold and the only Assembly segment where the BJP secured a victory in the 2021 Assembly polls. Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat consists of seven Assembly segments — Amdanga, Bijpur, Naihati, Jagatdal, Noapara, Bhatpara and Barrackpore. Apart from Bhatpara all the six Assembly seats belong to TMC. Regularly switching sides has earned Singh the label of “political opportunist,” which may also harm his prospects.

In all the six constituencies, the TMC candidate may get a lead while in some pockets of the Barrackpore Assembly segment and Titagarh areas, Singh still maintains a stronghold. According to Bhowmick, voters will choose the TMC this time to protest the “2019 post-poll violence perpetrated by Singh after winning the seat.”

TMC supporters claimed that the people in Barrackpore are fed up with the terror and atrocities that Sing and his men had unleashed.

“Voters will give a befitting reply to his opportunistic politics and switching sides,” Bhowmick said.

Singh on the other hand claimed that people would vote for him in the name of PM Modi. Approximately 16 per cent of Barrackpore’s population comprises Hindi-speaking jute mill workers who previously supported BJP’s Singh but the situation has changed significantly.

Some of the jute mill workers at the Jagatdal Alliance Jute Mill quarter, on condition of anonymity, said: “Women members of the families are getting Rs 1,000 under Lakshmir Bhandar. Wives are no longer demanding pocket money. People are benefitting from the state’s welfare schemes.”

Furthermore, lower government demand against the annual projections for jute bags has led to short-term instability in mill operations and a reduction in the labour force. A section of jute mill workers believes this may cast a shadow on the BJP’s poll prospects in the jute belt.

Singh’s “so-called influence” is confined only to Bhatpara. Political observers believe that TMC’s prospect largely depends on the kind of lead Bhowmik manages to gain in Naihati and Amdanga, an Assembly segment with a high concentration of minority voters.

CPI(M) has nominated Debdut Ghosh, a prominent theatre personality. The CPI(M)’s vote share in the 2019 elections was 10.63 per cent.

Sourav Singh, Arjun’s nephew has become the election agent of Bhowmick, which is again a setback for Arjun. Arjun won the Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat with a margin of 14,857 votes, defeating TMC’s Dinesh Trivedi with a 42.82 per cent vote share.