West Bengal Lok Saha election phase 5: West Bengal will vote for the 5th phase of the Lok Sabha election 2024 on May 20 in seven crucial constituencies. Arambag, Bangaon, Barrackpore, Howrah, Hooghly, Serampore and Uluberia will vote on May 20. There are some interesting fights and the seat of BJP MP Locket Chatterjee to watch out for in this phase.
Arambag: Trinamool's bastion but all new candidates
Since 2014, the constituency has been with the Trinamool Congress with Aparupa Poddar representing it. But this time, the party did not repeat her and fielded Mitali Bag instead. This is Mitali's first Lok Sabha election which she will fight against BJP's Arup Kanti Digar and CPM's Biplab Kumar Moitra.
In 2019, BJP's Tapan Kumar Roy came second only defeated by 1,000 votes. BJP saw a meteoric rise in the vote share in this constituency.
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Bangaon: Shantanu Thakur versus Biswajit Das
The BJP is aiming to get windfall here banking on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Union minister of state for ports, shipping and waterways Shantanu Thakur is BJP's repeat candidate here. In 2019, he won the seat by a margin of 1 lakh votes defeating Trinamool's Mamata Thakur. The TMC has fielded Biswajit Das from the constituency this time. Biswajit was with the BJP and switched to TMC in 2021 before the Assembly election.
Bangaon is dominated by the Matua population who have their origins in Bangladesh. BJP's Shantanu Thakur is a descendant of Harichand Thakur, founder of the Matua sect -- a scheduled class group.
{{/usCountry}}Bangaon is dominated by the Matua population who have their origins in Bangladesh. BJP's Shantanu Thakur is a descendant of Harichand Thakur, founder of the Matua sect -- a scheduled class group.
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Barrackpore: BJP's Arjun Singh aiming at a comeback
Sitting MP from Barrackpore Arjun Singh is eyeing a second win from the constituency in which he defeated Trinamool stalwart Dinesh Trivedi in 2019. Trivedi was the sitting MP since 2009. Arjun Singh has Trinamol's Partha Bhowmick and CPM's Debdut Ghosh to fight.
Debdut Ghosh is an actor and a known face of television.
Howrah: Prasun Banerjee's fight amid BJP's increasing vote share
In the 2019 election, BJP's vote share in Howrah increased 25% though Trinamool's Prasun Banerjee managed to maintain his winning record. He has been the Howrah MP since 2013 bypoll. Prasun's fight will be against BJP's Rathin Chakraborty and CPM's Sabyasachi Chatterjee.
Hooghly: Locket Chatterjee, Rachana Banerjee lock horns
Hooghly campaigning witnessed a lot of glamour because of the entry of Rachana Banerjee on a Trinamool ticket. Rachana is an actor and the host of a famous reality show Didi No 1. Rachana's challenge is BJP MP Locket Chatterjee who was also an actor before joining the politics. CPM has fielded Monodip Ghosh from this seat.
Serampore: Trinamool's Kalyan Banerjee against former son-in-law
Trinamool's Kalyan Banerjee has been representing the seat since 2009. In 2014, he even defeated musician late Bappi Lahiri who contested on a BJP ticket. As he eyes to retain the seat in 2024 Lok Sabha election, his challenger is BJP's Kabir Shankar Bose, his former son-in-law. The CPM has fielded Dipsita Dhar.
The campaigning saw the family feud, the failed marriage of Kalyan Banerjee's daughter surfacing in the discourse.
Uluberia: Sajda Ahmed's fight to retain seat
Sitting MP Trinamool's Sajda Ahmed will contest against BJP's Arun Uday Pal Chaudhary, Congress's Azahar Mollick in this seat, which came to be known as Trinamool's stronghold.