West Bengal: TMC’s Biplab Mitra Nominated From Balurghat

Trinamool Congress (TMC) has fielded Biplab Mitra as its candidate from the Lok Sabha constituency of Balurghat in West Bengal. He currently serves as the MLA

The veteran party leader of South Dinajpur had joined BJP after resigning from Mamata Banerjee-led TMC in June 2019, following the Lok Sabha elections. However, his sailing with the BJP did not last long as he left the saffron party in July 2020. Rejoining with TMC, Mitra won the state’s Legislative Assembly elections.

However, his opponent is a formidable one. The tenth state president of the BJP, Dr. Sukanta Majumdar is a Botany professor at the University of Gour Banga. The sitting MP had won the seat with 5.3 lakh votes beating Ghosh who had won 5 lakh votes.

Both Congress and the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) have held the Balurghat seat over the years. In 2009, RSP’s Prasanta Kumar Majumdar secured 3.8 lakh votes but in TMC’s Arpita Ghosh, theatre artist-turned-politician, won in 2014 with 4 lakh votes. But in the last Lok Sabha elections of 2019, BJP’s Dr. Sukanta Majumdar secured the seat with a margin of 33,293 votes.

In terms of education, Biplab Mitra is a law graduate from Calcutta University College of Law under Calcutta University in 1978.

Earlier reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC’s), the Balurghat Lok Sabha constituency comprises Vidhan Sabhas such as Itahar, Kushmandi (SC reserved), Kumarganj, Tapan (ST reserved), Gangarampur (SC reserved) and Harirampur. The party has around 29.5 percent Muslim voters, 28.6 percent SC voters and 15.3 percent ST voters, as per the 2011 census.