Pranab's son likely for Lok Sabha seat nomination

Abhijit Mukherjee, 52, first-time MLA and son of the country’s new President, is pressing to be given the Congress party nomination for the Lok Sabha seat from Jangipur in Murshidabad district, vacated by his father Pranab Mukherjee. While the process of deciding is still far away, his wish seems likely to come true, at present.

Party MPs in West Bengal have started publicly backing Abhijit Mukherjee, urging the party to announce him as its candidate. Shakeel Ahmad, the All India Congress Committee’s observer for West Bengal, has described him as “a young and dynamic leader”. Abhijit Mukherjee’s own state assembly seat is Nalhati, in Birbhum district, about 30 km from Jangipur town. He had resigned his job as a general manager with Steel Authority of India before last year’s assembly polls and formally joined the Congress, getting the ticket to contest from Nalhati, a seat held by the Left Front since the latter had come to power in 1977.

He won by a big majority in the anti-Left wave.

Some political observers say the Jangipur by-election might see an unopposed contest if the President’s son contests. Recently, something similar had taken place at Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh, when this Lok Sabha seat was vacated by the state’s newly elected chief minister, Akhilesh Yadav.

The party ticket was given to the CM’s wife, Dimple Yadav, and all others decided not to put up a nominee. However, some analysts say the Bengali electorate is not like their counterparts in UP.