Bengal BJP sets goal for Bhowanipore bypoll

 Since the party is sure that its candidate Priyanka Tibrewal doesn’t stand a chance against Mamata in the bypoll, its aim is to increase its vote share

Mamata Banerjee: File picture

Arkamoy Datta Majumdar   |  TT  |   Calcutta   |  12.09.21: The Bengal BJP leadership on Saturday decided to leave no stone unturned to increase its vote share in the Bhowanipore bypoll battle against chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

The call to go all-out to increase the party’s vote share and put more stress on campaigning in minority-dominated areas of Bhowanipore constituency was taken at a meeting at the BJP’s Hastings office in Calcutta on Saturday.

Since the party is sure that its candidate Priyanka Tibrewal doesn’t stand a chance against Mamata in the bypoll, its aim is to increase its vote share, said sources.

“This will be our acid test. We believe if we fight with all our strength, we can reduce the margin and increase our vote share.... If we can do that in Bhowanipore, we can do it elsewhere,” a source present at Saturday’s meeting said.

Saturday’s meeting was chaired by MP Arjun Singh, who has been named the party’s observer for the Bhowanipore constituency. Other members of the committee formed to oversee affairs of the bypoll, including MP Saumitra Khan, MLA Agnimitra Paul, general secretary Sanjay Singh, campaign in-charge Rudranil Ghosh and candidate Priyanka Tibrewal  were among those present.

Rudranil had been the BJP candidate for the Assembly polls from Bhowanipore this summer. He had lost to Trinamul candidate Sovandeb Chattopadhyay by 28,719 votes. While Sovandeb had a vote share of 58 per cent, Rudranil had managed 35 per cent votes. He had lagged behind Chattopadhyay in six of eight wards in Bhowanipore.

Dilip Ghosh, state BJP chief and Midnapore MP, chose bravado. “Bhowanipore is a cosmopolitan area. People from all communities, including Marwaris, Gujaratis and Muslims live there. We want people of Bhowanipore to cast their votes without fear.... We have defeated Trinamul in court, we will defeat them in the election,” he said.

However, a BJP leader said when a high-decibel campaign led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah couldn’t ensure a win in the Assembly polls, what could the local leadership hope to achieve in a bypoll pitted against the chief minister.

 BJP MP Arjun said: “I don’t think Narendra Modi or Amit Shah needs to campaign here. We are enough. (Mamata has) lost once, will lose again.”

A leader, who attended the Saturday meeting, said the BJP would make every effort to field agents in all booths located in Muslim-majority areas of the constituency. The party also seeks to ensure that members of the Hindu community living in those areas voted for the BJP without fear.

The BJP has also decided to better its booth management. On Saturday, it  decided to have two agents for each booth as a back-up plan. “We have seen in earlier polls that our agents are threatened and asked to leave booths.... If we have two agents in each booth, we can replace one with another if there is a problem,” a source said.

Despite the intent of aggression expressed by the campaign team, a section within the party expressed doubt about putting up a full-strength battle given the prolonged dilly-dally over the selection of candidate for the Bhowanipore seat.

“Our leaders seem to be day-dreaming. Bhowanipore is Mamata Banerjee’s home.... That is why Delhi took so long to decide on the candidate…. In fact Priyanka’s name was a last-minute inclusion.... How do they even think of increasing vote share in a constituency where we were defeated by a big margin,” a party functionary said.