TMC Fields Two-Time MLA Pratima Mondal From Joynagar (image-Facebook/Pratima Mondal)Reserved for Scheduled Castes, the Joynagar constituency will witness TMC’s two-time Lok Sabha MP from Joynagar constituency facing off against the BJP’s Dr. Ashok Kandari.
Born to the chief of TMC’s OBC Cell and former MP Gobinda Chandra Naskar from Basanti, Pratima Mondal was bound to join politics in her life. A postgraduate in MA History from the University of Calcutta, she is the sitting MP from the Joynagar constituency.
As an opposition member, she has raised issues of rising hate crimes and accused the Centre of playing an active role in diverting public attention from pivotal issues like inflation and developmental challenges the country faces. “The flames of hatred are being ignited,” she said, as quoted by The Hindu.
Established in 1962, the constituency witnessed intense violence after a local TMC leader, Saifuddin Laskar, was shot dead on November 13 last year. In retaliation, more than a dozen houses of supporters of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) were set ablaze and ransacked, leading to major protests in the area.
Nestled within the Kolkata Metropolitan Area in the South 24 Parganas district, the Joynagar constituency is known for its famous Sajnekhali Bird Sanctuary.
Other parties, such as Congress, the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist), have won seats over the years; however, the constituency has been a stronghold of the Revolutionary Socialist Party for several years. In 2014, TMC’s Pratima Mondal secured victory with 4.9 lakh votes as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s popularity created waves. The TMC candidate won the seat again with over 7.6 lakh votes, surpassing the BJP’s Ashok Kandari, who won 4.4 lakh votes.
The Jaynagar Lok Sabha constituency comprises Vidhan Sabhas including Gosaba, Basanti, Kultali, Canning Paschim, Canning Purba, and Magrahat Purba. All legislative segments, apart from Canning Purba, are also reserved for scheduled castes. According to the 2011 census, around 35.57 percent are Muslim voters, 30.2 percent are SC voters, and 1.2 percent are ST voters.