Opposition considering ‘Diamond Harbor Model’ to challenge Trinamool
Kolkata : Diamond Harbor Lok Sabha seat of West Bengal has become a topic of discussion in the politics of the state these days. Naushad Siddiqui, the lone MLA representing the Indian Secular Front (ISF) in West Bengal, is keen to fight and defeat Trinamool Congress MP and national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee in the Lok Sabha elections next year. Banerjee represents the Diamond Harbor constituency in South Bengal. The ISF was an ally of the Left in the 2021 state assembly elections.
BJP-Bengal leader Suvendu Adhikari claims that he will make Trinamool lose this seat in the upcoming Parliament elections. Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has said that it is dangerous for the Trinamool candidate if Siddiqui contests the elections.
CPI(M) state secretary Mohammad Saleem on Tuesday said whatever the people and parties agree on will happen, he said any decision on the choice of candidate is a collective decision and is taken after several meetings.
Meanwhile, Trinamool sees the opposition camp’s comments as “just a political stunt to remain relevant in the media”. A senior party leader had said on Monday, “No matter who contests the Diamond Harbor seat, Trinamool Congress will win.”
The opposition’s optimism – especially with regard to the Diamond Harbor seat – clearly stems from an earlier political experiment, now popular in political parlance as the “Sagardighi Model”.
In the by-election held in Sagardighi assembly constituency of the state earlier this year, the Left-backed Congress candidate had defeated the Trinamool candidate by securing more than 47 percent of the votes. Trinamool’s vote percentage in the 2021 assembly elections dropped from about 51 percent to 35 percent.
Although many factors were at work, broadly the Left-Congress understanding was considered a key factor for victory. This seat was with Trinamool since 2011. The party blamed an ‘unethical alliance’, claiming ‘transfer’ of BJP votes to the Left-backed Congress candidate.
The Diamond Harbor Lok Sabha constituency, traditionally a Left stronghold, has been with the Trinamool Congress since 2009. Banerjee is a second-time MP from this seat and had received around 56 per cent of the votes in the 2019 elections. BJP stood second with more than 33 percent votes. CPI(M) and Congress candidates got more than six percent and about 1.4 percent of the votes respectively.
In 2014, Trinamool’s vote share was around 40 percent. CPI(M) and Congress had about 35 per cent and 5 per cent votes respectively. BJP had about 16 percent votes.
If assessed in the context of 2014 elections, a tough challenge is expected from the Left-Congress candidate. However, the 2019 results clearly make the BJP the toughest rival for Trinamool. Apart from this, the 2021 assembly constituency results also went in favor of Trinamool.
Banerjee, who represents the Diamond Harbor constituency, has launched two major political campaigns in recent times – a 60-day public outreach program covering the state from north to south, and a campaign for public welfare schemes offered by the Center to the state. Campaign against funding freeze.
When senior Trinamool leader and minister in the state government Shashi Panja was asked whether an “alternative” candidate jointly presented by key opposition players could polarize votes, or go in favor of the BJP, he said. Such is the calculation of Trinamool’s political opponents. He termed any strategy of polarization as unfortunate.
“Abhishek Banerjee is not a person who is running away from any electoral field…. One attempt was the ‘Sagardighi Model’… Now they are talking about the ‘Diamond Harbor Model’… Their models gain momentum only when elections happen,” Panja told DH.
Can a non-BJP, non-Trinamool candidate succeed? Political analyst Udayan Bandopadhyay has a different opinion. Siddiqui’s candidature – even if supported by the Left-Congress, could lead to division of minority-community votes. “This could help the BJP as there will be consolidation of votes from the majority community,” Bandyopadhyay told DH.
