BJP bickerings in Alipurduars raise TMC hopes, CAA to remain saffron trump card
BJP in the Alipurduars Lok Sabha seat, so far considered a saffron citadel, the TMC seems to be banking on the saffron disarray to secure its second victory in the constituency after a decade.
Riding on the promise of CAA implementation and RSS groundwork among local tribals, the BJP swept the region by winning this ST-reserved seat in 2019 and bagged all seven assembly constituencies under its fold in 2021, including two MLA seats from adjacent districts.
Much seems to have changed in the meanwhile, with internal bickerings gaining momentum within the BJP's local unit after the party decided to replace its sitting MP and Union minister John Barla, with its local MLA and chief whip in the West Bengal assembly, Manoj Tigga, as candidate for the seat.
An aggrieved Barla, a minority community leader holding sway with the local tribes, has so far stayed away from campaigns alleging conspiracy to keep him out.
Back in 2014, the TMC poached Forward Bloc leader Dasrath Tirkey to establish its political foothold in the constituency. The party hopes to repeat its solitary performance this time around by encashing on BJP's internal tussles and alleged non-performance of the sitting MP.
The BJP won the seat by a record margin of 2.5 lakh votes in 2019 securing 54 per cent of the total votes polled in its favour.
The party had swept seven out of the eight north Bengal Lok Sabha seats that year.
Alipurduar district, carved out of Jalpaiguri in 2014, is dominated by tribals who work in more than 100 tea estates bordering
