Kalchini assembly constituency has always been unpredictable and this time is no different.
Sitting MLA Wilson Champamary, an Independent backed by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), seems to have marginal edge over RSP candidate Binay Bhusan Kerketa.
The RSP, which had won the seat in 2006 but came a poor third in the 2009 by-election, is working overtime to win back Gorkha and Adivasi voters, who constitute the largest percentage of voters divided on ethnic lines. The RSP has fielded Kerketa this time as well.
Kalchini has been witnessing tough battles between the RSP and the Congress candidates since 1977. The Gorkhaland movement in the Hills and its stiff opposition by Akhil Bhartiya Adivasi Vikash Paishad (ABAVP) in the Terai and the Dooars have clearly divided Gorkha and Adivasi voters.
RSP candidate Manohar Tirkey defeated Pawan Kumar Lakra of the Congress in 2006 by 4,989 votes and the results were reverse in 2001.
But in the 2009 by-election, Wilson Champamary, a greenhorn from the Mech (Bodo) community and backed by the GJM proved otherwise. A majority of Gorkha voters are with the GJM and adivasis with ABAVP. In 2009, ABAVP-backed Independent candidate Sandip Ekka had finished second.
Gouri Sengupta, office secretary of RSP Kalchini block, said, “The RSP will have a tough fight with the GJM.” He said the ABAVP could be the biggest threat for the RSP. But the division in their local leadership could prove costly. Another factor that could work against the ABAVP is that it is contesting with the symbol of Jharkhand Mukti Morha (JMM) whereas another Independent candidate is contesting with the symbol that was granted to ABAVP-backed candidate in 2009. “If GJM succeeds in swinging more than 80% Gorkha voters, Champamary might win,” Sengupta said.
{{/usCountry}}Gouri Sengupta, office secretary of RSP Kalchini block, said, “The RSP will have a tough fight with the GJM.” He said the ABAVP could be the biggest threat for the RSP. But the division in their local leadership could prove costly. Another factor that could work against the ABAVP is that it is contesting with the symbol of Jharkhand Mukti Morha (JMM) whereas another Independent candidate is contesting with the symbol that was granted to ABAVP-backed candidate in 2009. “If GJM succeeds in swinging more than 80% Gorkha voters, Champamary might win,” Sengupta said.
{{/usCountry}}Tilak Chandra Roka, GJM central committee leader in-charge of Champamary’s election campaign, said, “The anti-Bengal and pro-Gorkhaland sentiment is stronger among Gorkhas and Bodos of Kalchini than what was there in 2009. Since the Sipchu firing, the anti-Left Front wave is at its peak and no one can stop Champamary from winning.”
The Trinamool has fielded Lakra, who had won the seat in 2001 in a Congress ticket. But this time he seems to trailing. Kalchini is a tea garden belt with more than 80% voters coming from tea gardens and the Trinamool has no presence in the tea gardens, where trade unions play a significant role. The Congress still has a strong support base among the unions but with the seat allotted to the ally, Congress workers are downcast.
Raju Bara, ABAVP leader from Kalchini, said, “The battle will be between Champamary and ABAVP-backed JMM candidate Sandip Ekka.”
Voters feel development has taken a backseat. Narayan Chandra Saha, a Bengali businessman whose family has been in Kalchini for the last 150 years, said, “ The constituency is grossly neglected as far as development is concerned.”