KOLKATA: The all-too-frequent flipflops in choosing which side of the
political fence
he wants to be on could come to haunt BJP Barrackpore candidate
Arjun Singh
in case of a close fight this time.
This despite the fact that Singh continues to be a force to reckon with in
Barrackpore
— something that has kept his rival Partha Bhowmick, the Trinamool Congress (
TMC
) nominee and a state minister, on tenterhooks.
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With nearly 15 lakh eligible voters, Barrackpore is set for a highstakes showdown on May 20 in the fifth phase of polling.
As the countdown begins, all eyes are on Singh given his political somersaults. He has the highest number of declared criminal cases among all Bengal candidates. He has also recorded the highest spike in declared assets.
Denied a ticket by TMC, Singh made a dramatic switch to the saffron party just before these elections, repeating a pattern seen five years ago when he had defected from TMC to BJP and won the Barrackpore seat — only to return to the TMC fold three years later.
This northern suburb of Kolkata stands out as an industrial hub, stretching along the eastern bank of the Hooghly. From Barrackpore to Shyamnagar, the skyline is dominated by towering chimneys. However, the once-vibrant industrial landscape now wears a sombre veil, with only a handful of those chimneys billowing smoke sporadically.
Major industrial units, such as the Empire Jute Mill, are functional only intermittently, while others such as Loomtex Cotton, Naihati Jute, and Gouripore Jute remain shut. Ichapore Rifle and Metal & Steel continue to grapple with an ever thinning order book for arms and ammunition.
Meanwhile, forgotten entities such as Bengal Enamel and Mahaluxmi Cotton in nearby Palta have had the land on their premises repurposed for the construction of modern apartment complexes.
Further north, the fate of Kakinada Paper Mill and Meghni Mill mirrors the broader downturn, with both having pulled their shutters down.
With the fortune of these manufacturing facilities nosediving over the years, those employed at these places have been forced to endure a hand-to-mouth existence, a stark reflection of the economic challenges plaguing the region.
The Barrackpore electorate predominantly comprises workingclass citizens, with more than half the voters hailing from here. Notably, around 35% of them are Hindispeaking, underscoring a diverse demographic tapestry.
In the last assembly polls in 2021, TMC won six of the seven assembly segments under the Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat.
Going by those results, one may assume there won’t be too many creases for the TMC candidate to iron out, with Bhowmick himself exuding confidence in his ability to counter Singh’s influence, banking on his local support base.
However, poll dynamics do not always follow a linear logic, more so in case of Barrackpore, where the intricacies are far too deeprooted to justify a pure arithmetic-based conclusion. With Singh’s influence extending beyond party lines, particularly among Hindi-speaking voters concentrated in the constituency’s jute belt, even the most hardnosed political pundit would perhaps not hazard a guess on the outcome at this stage.
In 2019, BJP candidate Singh won by just 14,000 votes, with at least four assembly segments — Bijpur, Naihati, Jagaddal, and Noapara — going down to the wire. Among the remaining segments, while Amdanga favoured TMC, Bhatpara and Barrackpore voted decisively for BJP, ensuring Singh’s victory.
With 2019 producing such a photo-finish, political analysts foresee a repeat show this time around as well. More so, with CPM’s recent resurgence threatening to act as a party-pooper for the saffron brigade.
