Lok Sabha Elections: In Cooch Behar, it is a battle of similarities between TMC and BJP
BJP has fielded sitting MP Nishith Pramanik, while TMC has fielded Jagadish Chandra Burma Basunia. Nitish Chandra Roy of the Forward Bloc (FB) is also in the race, in a “friendly fight" with ally Congress’s Pia Roy Chowdhury. Barring Chowdhury, all three others are Rajbongshis.
Three seats in the Dooars- Alipurduar, Cooch Behar, and Jalpaiguri-- vote during the first phase of Lok Sabha elections on 19 April. The anti-thesis in the plethora of poll promises made to the people of Dooars by BJP or TMC lies only in Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Riding on the CAA promise, BJP managed to bag the majority votes in this constituency since 2019 Lok Sabha Elections.
In 2021 West Bengal Assembly Elections too, BJP won all the seven Assembly segments under the Cooch Behar Lok Sabha constituency. Jagadish Chandra Burma Basunia from the TMC camp, has been described as the ‘diamond candidate’ by TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee. Basunia is banking on the promise of hike in CM’s direct benefit schemes like Lakshmir Bhandar to woo the Dooars belt.
When Basunia asks his crod if they want the Lakshmi Bhandar amount to souble, the crowd responds with a resousnding “yes". Meanwhile, BJP's Nisith Pramanik, who is also the youngest minister in the PM Modi government, has reached out to all residents, also Muslims, in an attempt to break the anti-image of the saffron camp. Pramanik has also been charting Sandeshkhali events to pitch PM Modi's ‘developmental’ schemes against TMC ‘atrocities’.
“Modiji’s central schemes are for everyone — both Hindus and Muslims. Do you want a Sandeshkhali here?" Pramanik was heard saying. The crowd responds, “No." Pramanik’s campaign has been marked by small street-corner meetings with a convoy of cars, open-top
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