Mamata defends theatre activist MP's absence from constituency

Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee Tuesday attributed long period of absence of party MP Arpita Ghosh, a theatre activist, from her constituency Balurghat to an accident she had suffered in 2016.

Ghosh has been renominated from the seat going to polls on April 23, leading to dissent in the party.

Stating that Ghosh has performed well in Parliament, Banerjee sought blessings of the people of Balurghat for the candidate again.

"You may ask what Arpita has done in the last five years. She has fought in Parliament for the people's rights," the West Bengal chief minister said.

She said Ghosh had suffered an accident in 2016 and because of that she has not been seen in the constituency.

On April 14, 2016, Ghosh had sustained injuries on her head, right shoulder and left foot in a collision between her car and a three-wheeler in South Dinajpur district while returning from a party meeting. One person was killed in that accident.

Ghosh's renomination gave rise to dissent within the party with its district president Biplab Mitra having opposed her candidature.

The TMC supremo said MPs represent the constituency in Parliament, while local representatives of the party look after the area development work.

The railway wagon factory in Balurghat was sanctioned in the Railway budget by her when she was the railway minister, but the BJP government has not done anything to make it a reality, Banerjee said.

The people of Balurghat had not voted for the Trinamool Congress in the last Assembly elections, she said.

Of the six assembly seats within the Balurghat Lok Sabha constituency, TMC and RSP had won two each while CPI(M) and Congress emerged victorious in one each. The Congress MLA had later switched over to the TMC.

She said the Assembly election results had, however, not stopped her from initiating and executing various development projects for the area.

"Its ok if you had chosen them. But vote for us this time so that we can win 42 out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state. This will ensure we have the strongest say in Parliament," she said.

TMC Dakshin Dinajpur district president Biplab Mitra had contested the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, but lost to RSP by over 5,000 votes. Banerjee replaced him in the 2014 elections and made Ghosh candidate for the constituency.

Ghosh, a resident of Kolkata, had won by over one lakh votes in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Balurghat. She has been accused of not being seen much in her constituency following her win by both the local people as well as by a section of district party leadership.