Bypoll constituency watch: Acid test for all major candidates in three-cornered contest for Bengal's Kaliganj

The forthcoming three-cornered contest for the crucial bypoll for Kaliganj Assembly constituency in West Bengal on June 18 will be an acid test for the contestants of all the major political parties, namely ruling Trinamool Congress, Opposition BJP and the Left Front-supported Congress.

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For Trinamool Congress candidate Alifa Ahmed, the target is to exceed the winning margin of 46,987 votes achieved in 2021 by her father and ruling party legislator from Kaliganj, late Nasiruddin Ahmed, whose sudden demise in February this year has necessitated the bypoll for the constituency.

Alifa Ahmed is banking mainly on the popularity of her deceased father among the people of the constituency, a sympathy wave and consolidation of the minority votes in her favour, to achieve her target.

However, Trinamool Congress insiders admit that exceeding the 2021 winning margin will not be an easy task amid multiple controversies in the state, including the loss of jobs of 25,753 teaching and non-teaching staff in state-run schools and pending Dearness Allowance dues to government employees.