With erstwhile royal in fray, Krishnanagar LS poll battle will be tough

Kolkata: Krishnanagar in Nadia District, is one of the most watched constituencies in West Bengal in these Lok Sabha elections for multiple reasons.

On one hand, Trinamool Congress has re-nominated controversial leader Mahua Moitra and on the other hand the BJP has fielded Amrita Roy, a member of the erstwhile royal family of Krishnanagar, who is popularly called ‘Rajmata’ by the local populace.

Amrita Roy’s nomination got a boost in the national perspective when she received a telephone call from Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, soon after her nomination was announced.

The PM promised her of legal initiatives for giving back Rs 3,000 crore to the people of West Bengal which were confiscated by the central agencies in different cases relating to financial corruption in the state.

The second reason is Trinamool Congress' campaign targeting late Raja Krishnachandra Roy from the former royal family of Krishnanagar.

The Trinamool Congress has started a tacit campaign against Amrita Roy for carrying the lineage of late Raja Krishnachandra Roy, who was responsible for conspiring with the British against Nawab Siraj-ud-Daula.

In fact, during the telephonic conversation with the PM, which had gone viral, Amrita Roy updated him about the campaign by the ruling party.

The PM advised her not to take such campaigns seriously and said that these were “baseless slanders against a great social worker like Krishnachandra Roy just to hide the current flaws of the ruling party.”

Amrita Roy has made it clear that she will concentrate on two factors in her campaign, the first being corruption charges against the ruling party and the state government and the second is ‘Modi ki guarantee’ on development of West Bengal.

Also in the poll fray is CPI(M)’s SM Sadi, a thorough organisation man and a former legislator from the Palashipara Assembly constituency, one of the seven under the Krishnanagar Lok Sabha seat.

Since the very first day after his nomination was announced, SM Sadi has been concentrating on door-to-door campaigns and small roadside meetings, rather than mega rallies.

Krishnanagar, an erstwhile Red bastion, has been witnessing fluctuating mandates since 1999. From 1971 to 1998, the voters of the constituency gave CPI(M) candidates eight consecutive victories, first being Renu Pada Das and then Ajoy Mukherjee.

However, in 1999, the BJP had a surprise victory from there with senior advocate of Calcutta High Court, Satyabrata Mukherjee, emerging as the winner.

Then in 2005, Satyabrata Mukherjee got defeated by the CPI(M) candidate and gold medal winning athlete in Asian Games, Jyotirmoyee Sikdar.

However, since 2009, the voters of the constituency have backed Trinamool Congress for three consecutive terms, first being actor-turned-politician Tapas Paul and finally Mahua Moitra in 2019.

Krishnanagar has a total voter strength of around 15,00,000 and is a mix of urban and rural belts.

The constituency is famous for production of clay dolls, which are globally acclaimed. Besides handicrafts, a large percentage of the population there is dependent on agriculture for their livelihood.