The V-factor

Though the area was never a CPM bastion,the Left was hopeful considering the political naiveté of Mausam Noor,late leader’s niece,against their Malda North candidate Sailen Sarkar. The hopes were dashed.

Raiganj

To retain the Congress stronghold of Raiganj was a major challenge for Deepa Dasmunsi,the wife of ailing leader Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi. Despite that the delimitation saw the constituency losing Kharba,Ratua and Harishchandrapur that had provided the vital lead to the Congress during the last LS elections,Deepa did her homework well in defeating CPM’s Bireshwar Lahiri by 1,05,203 votes.

Deepa said the people voted for her because her husband had undertaken development projects in the area. “I miss him and hope this win helps him to recover,” she said.

Hooghly

Tapasi Malik’s ghost continued to haunt the CPM as it lost its stronghold Hooghly to Ratna De Nag of Trinamool. Even though the CPM had blamed the Trinamool for Nano fiasco,in Singur Assembly segment itself Nag scored over sitting MP and CPM candidate Rupchand Pal by 22,257 votes.

“We never said Nano should go. We only protested against the manner in which the state government grabbed land. Today’s victory shows that people supported our stand,” said Mamata Banerjee. “I suspect a foreign hand behind the loss,” said Pal.

The CPM’s decision to showcase party leader and main accused in Tapasi murder case,Suhrid Dutta,during its campign also backfired as the Trinamool brought Tapasi’s parents Monoranjan Malik and Molina in its campaign. CPM leader in Singur Balai Sabui said,“Tapasi case affected our vote bank. We should have handled the issue better.”

Bankura

Defying the ‘waves of change’,veteran CPM leader Basudeb Acharia trounced Congress heavyweight Subrata Mukherjee by over one lakh votes.

Aided by alliance with the Trinamool,which brought him voters from the Trinamool-ruled gram panchayats,Subrata had hoped to cash in on the anti-incumbency factor as despite having an eight-time CPM parliamentarian,tribal-dominated Bankura continues to remain among the most backward districts in Bengal. Bankura town has such an acute water shortage that a day before External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee arrived there to campaign for Subrata,two persons were injured in a scuffle over water. The Maoist-affected district also has a poor record in giving work under the NREGA.

Subrata had hoped the delimitation that removed areas like Hura and Onda,which gave Acharia a major chunk of his votes,would help him. After the polling on April 30,he had spoken of “hurrying to Delhi” if he wins. However,it was a different person who answered the phone today. “Give me a couple of days. I am a bit depressed.”

On the other hand,Acharia remained as unflappable in victory as he was on the campaign trail. “My victory was because of our cadres. We won in districts like Bankura,West Midnapore and Purulia due to the power of our organisation.”