Newsmaker: A new house for Bayron Biswas, back to 0 for West Bengal Congress

Biswas’s father Babar Ali Biswas might have been an old-time Congress loyalist, since working for veteran Pranab Mukherjee in his first Lok Sabha election from Jangipur in 2004, but with the Congress’s fortunes dwindling in West Bengal, the son himself has been quite the party hopper.

In his political career so far, the 40-year-old has swung between the Congress and TMC more than once.

While Bayron Biswas started his political innings with the Congress, that lasted briefly before he joined the TMC. In the 2021 Assembly elections, he first tried to get a ticket from the TMC, and when that failed, he returned to the Congress.

The Sagardighi seat was won by the TMC by characteristic ease in its Muslim-dominated stronghold in the 2021 Assembly polls. It was when the sitting MLA died, resulting in the February bypoll, that Bayron finally got a political break. In a blow to the TMC, Bayron, fighting on Congress ticket with Left support, registered a 22,000-vote-plus win.

Chowdhury stationed himself in the seat to see Bayron through, even skipping the Congress plenary. Sagardighi falls in Murshidabad, Chowdhury’s bastion and the Congress’s sole remaining bleak hope in West Bengal.

On Monday, Bayron switched back to the TMC, while slamming the Congress, including Chowdhury, of doing little for his win and suggesting that they were in cahoots with the BJP.

The eldest of five siblings – three brothers and two sisters – Bayron started out with the family business of beedi manufacturing soon after he had finished schooling. It was his father who had set up the business, at Samserganj in Murshidabad district, and gradually became known for his social work such as helping people with ambulance services, and medical support.

Bayron also dabbled in the healthcare sector and set up a nursing home, before following his father into politics.

After the bypoll win, Bayron had praised Chowdhury for steering the party’s campaign in Sagardighi. “Our leader Adhir Chowdhury fought from the front, and the CPI(M) gave its 100 per cent,” he had said.

Soon after his victory in February in the bypoll, a controversy had erupted over an audio clip where he allegedly made “abusive” comments against a TMC leader and his mother. While Bayron dubbed the charges “baseless and politically motivated”, the TMC had demanded his arrest and an FIR was registered against him.

On Monday, with characters on the two sides reversed, Chowdhury said he always thought well of Bayron, and added: “I want to ask Bayron bhai not to level allegations against the Congress… If we had not been there with you, you would not be what you are today.”

He added: “But Didi (Mamata Banerjee), do not forget, what goes around, comes around.”