Ahead of the much anticipated West Bengal assembly by-polls, where the highlight would be the Bhabanipur seat from where chief minister Mamata Banerjee would be fighting the elections, a strange situation has emerged from the Samserganj constituency. The Congress candidate who has been picked to fight from Samserganj is not inclined to continue his campaign for the risk of drawing the ire of his twin brother, who is a TMC MP, a report publish in News 18 said.
Congress candidate Jaidur Rahaman is in a quandary after he got the party ticket following the death of party nominee Rezaul Haque during the assembly elections this year. Samserganj falls under Jangipur area, which is under the charge of Trinamool MP Khalilur Rahaman, Jaidur’s twin brother. The Congress leader said he is not interested in contesting the by-polls as it would create troubles at home.
As a consequence, there has been no campaign schedule, no strategy meetings or other paraphernalia associated with the hustle and bustle of elections. While he has submitted his nomination, the lack of campaign activity by him suggests he is uninterested in fighting the polls.
Initially, Rezaul’s wife was approached by the Congress party to fight on his seat. After she declined, the party wanted a popular figure to spearhead their campaign in Samaerganj. They found Jaidur, a local businessman who was quite popular in the area. He agreed to contest on the party ticket but as the elections have approached, he has appeared to develop cold feet over the prospect of a potential fallout with his elder brother.
“At the time, people suggested me to accept the ticket and contest the polls. So I was interested. My twin brother, Khalilur Rahaman, is the Trinamool Congress MP from Jangipur and he is now in charge of this entire area. He is two minutes older than me. If I contest, there will be a problem at home and I don’t want that,” Jaidur was quoted as saying by News 18.
Jaidur’s reluctance to fight the elections has landed the Congress party between a rock and a hard place. It is unable to convince Jaidur to put up a fight. Nor can it change its candidate now.
Speaking about Congress’ predicament, block president Saidul Islam said, “He is unsure. We are asking him to contest. The decision will come in a day or two. Meanwhile, we are telling our workers to paint the Congress symbol on walls in the area and do the usual things. The Congress has support there. What will the Congress voters do?”
It will be an interesting battle, analysts predict, given that Malda Congress candidate Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury had got the lead in Samserganj in the 2019 General elections.
Trinamool has fielded Amirul Islam for the seat. Besides, CPI(M) candidate is also fighting for the seat. In the 2016 assembly polls, Amirul bagged the seat with 48,381 (30.41%) votes. The CPI(M)’s Touab Ali closely followed him with 46,601 (29.31%) votes. The Congress party’s Rezaul Haque got 42,389 (26.66%) votes.
The by-polls will be held for Bhabanipur, Samserganj and Jangipur on September 30 and the results will be announced on October 3.