Polls over, but candidates brace for close finish

Subhro Maitra, Pinak Priya Bhattacharya & Ashish Poddar TNN
Malda/Alipurduar/Balurgh at/Krishnagar: In Malda North, Balurghat and Alipurduar, the battle for the ballot ended over a week back. But the anxiety of candidates — locked in a close fight till the very end — is far from over. It’s no different in Krishnagar, that went to the polls on Thursday. Though the ballot’s been cast and their fate sealed, the candidates put up a brave face, claiming to have just pulled it off at the home stretch. At Alipurduar, where a vote boycott by tribals, and Nepalis’ support to BJP has queered the pitch, all three candidates are cautious. “The poll boycott by the tribals will directly affect the Left Front vote bank. The GJM cause will also come as a blow to the ruling party. Most Nepalis used to cast their vote for the Front as well. We are therefore confident of winning this seat,” said Trinamool candidate Pawan Lakra. BJP’s Manoj Tigga, on the other hand, is banking on Nepali votes. “I will win,” he said. RSP’s Manohar Tirkey, whose seat was considered one of the most secure till the tribal boycott and Nepali desertion turned it wobbly, is putting up a brave face as well. “There hasn’t been much polling in the tea belt. But we have been compensated by strong voting in the plains. The voting percentage in villages was much higher than earlier. It should go in our favour,” he said. M a u s a m Noor, the young Congress candidate from Malda North, who was pitted against CPM veteran Sailen Sarkar, is also banking on the high 80% turnout to create an upset. Now campaigning for Somen Mitra at Diamond Harbour, Noor acknowledged it had been a tough fight but hoped to pull through with the dents she had made in CPM strongholds like Bamangola and Gajole. “Even now, I continue to get calls from womenfolk in families that have traditionally voted for CPM,” Noor said. CPM secretary Jiban Maitra, who has been rallying forces for Sarkar, dismissed any erosion in the Left vote. Acknowledging the opponent’s charm, he said people went only to “see Mausam, not vote for her”. Maitra felt Sakar would score with votes at Habibpur and Gajole, that did not go to Congress as perceived. Another Sarkar aide said the deciding factor would be an anti-minority sentiment among some Congress supporters in Old Malda. In Balurghat, Trinamool candidate Biplab Mitra is upbeat. If re-alignment of the constituency following delimitation and rift in the CPM-RSP ranks had fuelled hopes of an upset, the huge 87% turnout has given it a shot in the arm. “The voter turnout points to an anti-incumbency wave. Minorities also voted for us in large numbers,” he said. RSP leader Prosanta Majumder disagreed, analyzing the massive turnout as a revolt against the “unholy” alliance between Congress and Trinamool. In south Bengal, CPM Krishnagar candidate Jyo t i r m oye e Sikdar expressed confidence of winning by a margin of 50,000 votes. But so did rival Tapas Paul. “I am not bothered about BJP candidate Satyabrata Mukherjee eating into the Congress vote share. Of the seven Assembly segments in Krishnagar, six seats are in our grasp. Remember, we got 52% votes in the panchayat elections,” Sikdar said. Tapas Pal’s campaign manager Ujjal Biswas said the star candidate would ride votes from the minority community to win comfortably. “We don’t believe BJP will make any difference. They created some excitement in the beginning but it petered out,” Biswas said.