Mamata has her field day

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee today pitched five women and four candidates belonging to minority communities against the ruling CPM as she released the list of her partys candidates for the Lok Sabha elections.

Written by Ravik Bhattacharya

Kolkata | March 13, 2009 03:49 AM IST

2 min read

After sealing the TMC-Congress seat-sharing deal,Banerjee urged all regional parties not to join the Third Front with the CPM.

Welcoming the Congress decision to contest 14 Lok Sabha seats,Banerjee said,We will fight together to bring an end to the 32-year misrule of the CPM. People wanted us to fight together and we have their wishes.

While she herself will contest from her old Kolkata South seat,the recently expelled Congress MLA,Sudip Banerjee,will fight for the Kolkata North seat.

The TMC chief has fielded five of her sitting MLAs. While Sougata Roy will contest from Dum Dum,MLAs Tapas Pal,Ratna De Nag,Sisir Adhikary and Subhendu Adhikary will fight for Krishnanagar,Hooghly,Kanthi and Tamluk seats respectively. Another expelled Congress MLA,Somen Mitra,will contest the Diamond Harbour seat.

The TMC list also has seven candidates from the SC and one from ST communities. If you consider me,we have five woman candidates, she said.

Banerjee has also fielded Tollywood stars like Shatabdi Roy and Tapas Paul in Birbhum and Krishnanagar respectively. Singer Kabir Suman will contest from Jadavpur while theatre personality Ashok Biswas is in the fray from Burdwan East.

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The list also contains names of C M Jatua,a former IPS officer,who will contest in Mathurapur,and Dipak Ghosh,a former IAS officer who will fight for Midnapore seat. Educationist Sucharu Halder will contest from Ranaghat.

Banerjee said she spoke to Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday night. I will discuss with Pranabda about our manifesto which we will release soon. He will be in Kolkata on March 15,when we will discuss again our joint campaign for our candidates.

It is learnt that Congress leaders in Delhi,particularly K Keshav Rao,the AICC in-charge of West Bengal,hurried to clinch the deal after the TMC chief served a 48-hour ultimatum to the Congress.

Ravik Bhattacharya

Ravik Bhattacharya is a highly experienced and award-winning journalist currently serving as the Chief of Bureau of The Indian Express, Kolkata. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, Ravik possesses deep expertise across a wide range of critical subjects and geographical areas. Experience & Authority Current Role: Chief of Bureau, The Indian Express, Kolkata. Expertise: Extensive reporting across West Bengal, Odisha, Assam, and the Andaman Nicobar Islands. Ravik specializes in politics, crime, major incidents and issues, and investigative stories, demonstrating a robust command of complex and sensitive subjects. Experience: His long and distinguished career includes key reporting roles at several prestigious publications, including The Asian Age, The Statesman, The Telegraph, and The Hindustan Times. Ravik's current role marks his second stint with The Indian Express, having previously served as a Principal Correspondent in the Kolkata bureau from 2005 to 2010. Major Award: Ravik's authority and quality of work are substantiated by his winning of the prestigious Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award in 2007 for Political Reporting. Education: His strong academic foundation includes a Bachelor's degree with English Honours from Scottish Church College under Calcutta University, and a PG Diploma in Mass Communication from Jadavpur University. Ravik Bhattacharya's extensive tenure, specialized beat coverage, and notable award confirm his status as a trusted and authoritative voice in Indian journalism, particularly for stories emanating from Eastern India. ... Read More

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Kolkata TMC

Mamata has her field day

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee today pitched five women and four candidates belonging to minority communities against the ruling CPM as she released the list of her partys candidates for the Lok Sabha elections.

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee today pitched five women and four candidates belonging to minority communities against the ruling CPM as she released the list of her partys candidates for the Lok Sabha elections.