2024 Lok Sabha elections: Bhangar vote may decide Jadavpur's fate

Once known as the ‘Leningrad of the East’, Jadavpur, situated on the southern fringes of Kolkata, has now erased every possible connection with its Left-leaning past. It houses one of Kolkata’s biggest upscale malls, a haven for shopaholics.

In a sense, Jadavpur has a bit of everything. It has the posh and affluence of Tollygunge and Golf Green, the working-class bustle of Garia, and the grime of Bhangar.

Political observers believe that the strife-hit Bhangar will hold the key to the battle for the Jadavpur Lok Sabha constituency, which votes during the final phase of the polls on Saturday.

 

Bhangar, an area with a significant Muslim population, has witnessed several instances of political skirmishes in the past.

Things came to a boil in June last year during the panchayat polls, when a Trinamool Congress (TMC) supporter and an activist of the fledgling Indian Secular Front (ISF) were killed in the clashes, prompting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to bring the vicinity under the jurisdiction of the Kolkata Police.

It has set the stage for a stiff four-cornered race between the Left, the ruling TMC, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and ISF.

CPI(M)’s Srijan Bhattacharya is pitted against actor-turned-politician Saayoni Ghosh of the TMC, senior BJP leader Anirban Ganguly, and ISF’s Nur Alam Khan. Interestingly, the ISF, which had joined hands with the CPI(M) during the Assembly polls in 2021, ousted the TMC.

Jadavpur also assumes importance for Mamata because this was where she had kick-started her political career, after her giant-slaying act in 1984, when she toppled CPI(M) stalwart Somnath Chatterjee.

In the Lok Sabha polls, however, the TMC has an impressive track record in Jadavpur. It has been on an impressive winning run since 2009.

In 2019, the TMC garnered the lion's share with 47.91 per cent, the BJP secured 27 per cent vote share in Jadavpur, while the CPI(M) bagged 21 per cent.

Can the Left spring a surprise and reclaim Jadavpur, once known as the ‘Leningrad of the East’? The TMC, however, will be planning to maintain its squeaky-clean LS record.