Abhishek refrains from criticizing the Congress, left

Despite the fact that both parties had attacked the TMC in a rally for an assembly byelection the day before, Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee did not criticize the Congress or the Communist Party of India (Marxist) at a public event on Saturday. This was viewed as an effort to avoid engaging in a public slanging match with other members of the INDIA alliance.

On Friday, Bengal Congress chairman Chowdhury and CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim referred to the governing TMC as their “enemy” in a sign that bringing together parties that are fundamentally opposed to one another was a difficult assignment.

But on Saturday, Banerjee chose to disregard the comments and criticize the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while speaking at a rally for the September 5 Dhupguri assembly byelection.

“Out of anxiety, the Center cut the cost of LPG cylinders by $200. People are rising up against the BJP in every state. All of the next state elections will be lost by the party. LPG cylinder costs in West Bengal would be reduced to $500 if the INDIA coalition wins the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Banerjee said.

A long-standing desire of the residents of the assembly seat in north Bengal was that Dhupguri be constituted an administrative subdivision by December 31. The Lok Sabha MP from Diamond Harbour made this commitment.

The byelection was required after the death of BJP lawmaker Bishnu Pada Roy on July 25. The scheduled caste group is given the assembly seat.

Since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, when the BJP won 18 of the state’s 42 seats, its highest result in the eastern state, the area of north Bengal has become a BJP stronghold. The BJP won seven of the eight Lok Sabha seats in north Bengal alone. Even though the BJP only won 75 of the 294 seats in the 2021 assembly elections, it had a strong performance in north Bengal, where it took 30 of the 54 seats.

“It’s time locals recognized the distinctions between the TMC and the BJP. The people in this country continued to benefit from Mamata Banerjee’s welfare programs despite the fact that we did not win the elections, Banerjee stated. On the other side, when the BJP lost the 2021 assembly elections, the Centre ceased funding Bengal under significant headings including the rural housing project. They don’t keep their promises, but we do.

Although CPI(M) is a member of the INDIA alliance, the Bengal unit is authorized to compete against TMC in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by permission of the central committee. The party has also put out a candidate to run against history professor Nirmal Chandra Roy of the TMC in the Dhupguri byelection.

The CPI(M) continued to criticize Banerjee on Saturday. The chief minister is Mamata Banerjee, and Abhishek is her nephew. How can someone commit to create a subdivision and even set a timetable if they lack administrative jurisdiction? During the TMC dictatorship, administrative decisions are made based on political platforms, according to Sujan Chakraborty, a member of the CPI(M) central committee.

All three of the candidates competing in the byelection are members of the Rajbangshi community, which makes up a significant portion of the local population.

The widow of Jagannath Roy, a member of the Central Armed Police Force (CRPF), who was one of the 40 soldiers killed in the 2019 Pulwama terrorist attack, Tapasi Roy, has run for office. The Congress has given the CPI(M) the vacant seat, and it has chosen retired teacher Ishwar Chandra Roy as its candidate in the by-election.