Ficci secretary-general may contest on TMC ticket

In the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections, the Khardaha constituency in North 24 Parganas district is set to see the clash of titans. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) Secretary-General Amit Mitra may contest against West Bengal Finance Minister and CPM leader Asim Dasgupta from this seat on a Trinamool Congress (TMC) ticket.

“Yes, there is a plan to field him. But the final candidate list is yet to be out and it will be cleared only by Didi (Mamata Banerjee),” said the leader of opposition and TMC leader Partha Chatterjee.

Mitra was not available for comment.

For Mitra, it may not be a cakewalk, as he is up against Dasgupta who has a five-time undefeated record in this constituency. The state finance minister had won against Mahadeb Basak of BJP (2006), Ranjit Kumar Mukherjee of TMC (2001), Chinmoy Chatterjee of Congress (1996), Sipta Bishnu of Congress (1991) and Sudhir Banerjee of Congress (1987). But political observers believe that Mitra was the only person, who could take over from Dasgupta, if the Left Front lost.

A graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the CPM always believed that no one other than Dasgupta was competent enough to handle the state's finances. The Ficci official, on the other hand, has many honours under his belt, including the Padma Shri in 2008. Mitra, who completed his masters from Delhi School of Economics in 1970, has a doctorate in economics from Duke University in the US.

Mitra's proximity to Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee came to the fore when he became the chairman of an expert committee appointed by the Ministry of Railways on innovative financing and implementation of the economically unviable but socially desired projects. Asked whether Mitra was TMC's choice for the FM role, Chatterjee did not respond.

“Mitra has a proven expertise in the field of financing and management. This is for the first time that a top Ficci official is contesting in an election. So, whether he would be able to continue as the official or not is unknown,” said a top Ficci official.

Banerjee is likely to announce the names of her party’s candidates, once it settles seat sharing issues with the Congress.

Sources, however, indicated that if the seat-sharing talks between the Congress and the TMC were not concluded over the weekend, Banerjee may announce her candidates by Monday.