West Bengal: Former BJP Leader Mukut Adhikari Nominated By TMC From Ranaghat (image-X/mukut_adhikari)
The Trinamool Congress has chosen former BJP member Mukut Mani Adhikari to contest elections from the Ranaghat Lok Sabha constituency for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Hailing from the Matua community, Mr. Adhikari joined the TMC on March 8 in the presence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
The Matua community constitutes 3.8 percent of the total population of West Bengal, making the community the second-largest SC group. The community has long demanded the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Districts such as North 24 Parganas, Nadia, Malda, and North Bengal are the primary residential areas of Matuas, which have consistently advocated for the rehabilitation of Hindu Bengali refugees from Bangladesh.
State CM Mamata Banerjee, in a rally, accused the Centre of mass cancellations of Aadhar that affected the Matuas. She added that the party will not allow the conspiracy to provoke separate statehood sentiments to divide Hindus and Muslims, or adivasis and tapasilis.
Ranaghat will be contesting the elections against sitting BJP MP Jagannath Sarkar in the SC reserved Ranaghat seat, where the BJP has five of the seven assembly segments while TMC only has two. Reportedly, the BJP chose to renominate Sarkar from the Ranaghat seat, prompting Adhikari to quit the party. In the 2019 elections, he was the party’s first choice but was replaced by Sarkar after the party realised that the Ranaghat Dakshin MLA was still a government employee.
The implementation of CAA is expected to work as a vote swinger for the Matuas, who belong to the Namashudra (Dalit) community. However, fielding a candidate from the same community could possibly sway voters.
TMC’s Sucharu Ranjan Haidar, now a BJP member, secured the seat with 5.7 lakh votes in the 2009 general elections. In 2014 as well, the seat went to TMC, with Tapas Mandal securing an overwhelming victory with 5.9 lakh votes. However, in 2019, the BJP took over as Jagannath Sarkar won with 7.8 lakh votes, defeating TMC’s Rupali Biswas, who only won 5.4 lakh votes.
West Bengal’s Ranaghat constituency comprises Vidhan Sabhas including Nabadwip, Santipur, Ranaghat Uttar Paschim, Krishnaganj, Ranaghat Uttar Purba, Chakdaha, and Ranaghat Dakshin.
