On 2nd March, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released the first list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is contesting from Varanasi, Home Minister Amit Shah is contesting from Gandhinagar and Union Minister Smriti Irani is contesting from Amethi. One of the names that stood out in the list is of Piya Saha, who got a ticket from the Bolpur, West Bengal, constituency.
Piya Saha joined the BJP after getting inspired by Dudhkumar Mondal. She is a dedicated party worker and became a BJP councillor in 2015. She has contested Assembly Elections from Sainthia seat on BJP’s ticket twice. She contested in West Bengal Assembly Elections in 2016 and 2021 on BJP’s ticket. In 2016, she received 24,029 votes and stood in third position. CPI(M) candidate Dhiren Bagdi secured 64,765 votes and TMC’s candidate Nilabati Saha won the election with 1,03,376 votes. Voter turnout was 1,98,163.
In 2021, Piya secured 95,329 votes, a jump of 71,300 votes from 2016 elections. On the other hand, CPI(M)’s candidate Mausumi Konai secured 10,369 votes, a drop of 54,369 votes compared to previous elections. Nilabati Saha, the TMC candidate who secured the seat in 2021 as well, secured 1,10,572 votes, only 7,196 votes more than in previous elections. Voter turnout was 2,21,866 which was 23,703 more than 2016. [Data source Election Commission of India]
It was evident that Piya’s popularity in the area rose significantly between 2016 and 2021 In 2022, she became Purulia in charge of BJP Mahila Mandal. Eventually, the BJP decided to give her a ticket for the Lok Sabha elections.
37-year-old Piya Saha is a housewife and her husband Mantu Chowdhury runs a small business. She earned her Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree in Sanskrit from Sainthia Abhedananada Mahavidyalaya from Burdwan University in 2008.
Notably, during the campaigning, her convoy was attacked by TMC goons. In a statement, she had said, “TMC miscreants attacked by convoy, bombs were hurled at our workers.” Following the attack, she staged a protest outside the police station with her supporters. BJP leader Suvendhu Adhikari had criticised the attack and called TMC a habitual offender.
সাঁইথিয়ার @BJP4Bengal ভারতীয় জনতা পার্টির প্রার্থী পিয়া সাহার উপর তৃণমূলের দুষ্কৃতী দ্বারা আক্রমণের প্রতিবাদে #সিউড়ি থানায় ডেপুটেশন ও অবস্থান বিক্ষোভ…
— Suvendu Adhikari • শুভেন্দু অধিকারী (@SuvenduWB) April 17, 2021
While in #Birbhum, joined a Protest at #Suri PS against the recent attack on #Sainthia AC's BJP candidate Smt. Piya Saha… pic.twitter.com/dVhEigZui3
He asserted that TMC used violence to win elections. After her defeat in the 2021 Assembly elections, CPI(M) cadre allegedly harassed her and her family. However, she kept on resisting the attacks which further made her popular among the masses.
