TMC bets on Subhasis Das to retain Maheshtala

Kolkata: The Maheshtala Assembly Constituency, a Left bastion for 34 years from 1977 to 2011, saw a shift when the Trinamool Congress (TMC), led by Mamata Banerjee, ended the Left Front’s long rule in the state.

In 2011, TMC’s Kasturi Das won the seat, defeating Sheikh Mohammad Israil by over 24,000 votes. She retained the seat in 2016. After her death, her husband Dulal Chandra Das won the 2018 bypoll and secured a convincing victory again in the 2021 Assembly election.

This year, the TMC has fielded their son, Subhasis Das, from Maheshtala.

Though officially a new candidate, Subhasis Das is a familiar face in the Constituency. He entered active politics in 2015 as president of Ward 16. In 2017, he was made zone president, overseeing five wards. He became a councillor of Ward 22 in 2022 and, in 2023, was appointed observer of the Maheshtala Assembly Constituency, in charge of around a dozen wards. Of the 35 wards under Maheshtala Municipality, 26 fall within the Assembly segment, while the rest are under Metiabruz.

“Shamim Ahmed, coordinator of Maheshtala, will hold a meeting with all councillors and ward presidents today (Thursday), following which the campaign strategy will be finalised. I will conduct door-to-door outreach as well as intensive social media campaigning,” Das said.

He said his campaign will focus on the Mamata Banerjee government’s social welfare schemes and overall development since 2011. “The ‘Sebaashray’ project, a brainchild of TMC Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee, has benefited many people in Maheshtala,” he added.

Highlighting development work, Das pointed to the rejuvenation of Budge Budge Trunk Road, a water treatment plant in Uludanga, illumination under the Sampriti flyover, and free household water connections covering 42,000 people. He also said 1,470 km of roads are being built or repaired under the Pathashree–Rastashree scheme at a cost of Rs 120–125 crore — the highest allocation in the state.

On drainage and waterlogging in several wards during the monsoon, Das said Abhishek Banerjee has promised a master plan to revamp drainage infrastructure after the elections. The project will be implemented with state government funding to address waterlogging.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the TMC secured a lead in 24 of the 26 wards, with the BJP leading in Wards 13 and 15. “I will lay special focus on these two wards and am confident of regaining

ground,” Das said.