As the Lok Sabha elections approach in West Bengal, discontentment within the ranks of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is on the rise. Several leaders from both parties have expressed displeasure over the selection of candidates for the upcoming polls.
In the TMC, many leaders who aspired for tickets have openly voiced their unhappiness after being denied nominations for the seats they desired. Rajya Sabha MP Mausam Benazir Noor and party spokesperson Santanu Sen, who were seeking nominations from Malda North and Dum Dum seats respectively, are among the five senior TMC leaders who have expressed dissatisfaction.
Even Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s younger brother, Babun Banerjee, voiced his displeasure after not being nominated for the Howrah seat, which was given to sitting MP Prasun Banerjee. Following his outburst, the Chief Minister distanced herself from her brother.
On the BJP side, sitting MP from Barrackpore, Arjun Singh, who had previously switched over to the TMC two years ago, returned to the saffron party after being denied a ticket. TMC’s four-term MLA and ticket aspirant from Kolkata North, Tapas Roy, also joined the BJP due to disagreements over the re-nomination of five-term party MP Sudip Bandopadhyay from the seat.
The BJP, which has announced candidates for 19 of the 42 seats so far, has also faced embarrassing situations. Union Minister and Alipurduars MP John Barla and Rajya Sabha MP Ananta Maharaj expressed dissatisfaction over the selection of candidates in some seats in north Bengal. Barla was replaced by the party’s Assembly chief whip Manoj Tigga for Alipurduars, and Nisith Pramanik was re-nominated in Cooch Behar despite opposition from Maharaj.
Both the TMC and BJP have downplayed the discontentment, referring to it as disappointment rather than a major concern. TMC spokesperson Sukhendu Sekhar Ray stated that all except Arjun Singh are still with the TMC and working for the party.
As the parties continue their intense election campaigns, the impact of these internal conflicts remains to be seen.
