BENGAL POISED FOR INTERESTING BATTLES IN THIRD PHASE OF ELECTIONS

Voting for four Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal’s constituencies of Malda Uttar, Malda Dakshin, Jangipur and Murshidabad will be held in the third phase on 7 May, Tuesday.

- SUPROTIM MUKHERJEE

Out of the four constituencies, the BJP had won Malda Uttar, the Congress had wrested Malda Dakshin and the Trinamool Congress had won Jangipur and Murshidabad in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. 

This time round, these constituencies have thrown up interesting battles.

The region has a distinct geography and demography, and the issues are constituency-specific. Both Malda and Murshidabad districts have a significant minority population and the Trinamool, the Left and the Congress leadership want to win the support of the Muslim community. The BJP is hoping that a split in the Muslim vote and a polarisation of voters will help the party.

The region is one of the economically most backward areas of the state, with lakhs of youth migrating in search of work. While men move to states in the South and in the North for higher wages, women roll beedis to add to their income.

The districts have also borne the brunt of river erosion that has left thousands of people homeless, with the state losing about 200 square kilometres of land in the past several decades. Like in previous elections, politicians both in power at the Centre and in the state are giving assurances to the migrants and to the people affected by river erosion that they will take concrete steps after the election.