KHARAGPUR: BJP candidate from Kharagpur Sadar assembly constituency Dilip Ghosh exuded confidence on party victory in the West Bengal polls, stating that the ruling Trinamool Congress’s “departure is ensured”. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Dilip Ghosh said, “The time has come for TMC to go… Now Mamata Banerjee has nothing in her hands. Their departure is ensured”. Ghosh also said that the deployment of central forces at the booth has assured people to exercise their right to vote without intimidation from TMC goons. “If the booths come under the control of central forces, people will go to vote without worry because here the police, along with the goons, intimidate people,” he said. Dilip Ghosh is seeking to repeat his 2016 performance in Kharagpur Sadar assembly constituency as he faces off with Trinamool Congress’s Pradip Sarkar, who is himself looking to come back from a 2021 defeat. With an estimated total population of 4 lakh with nearly 1.9 lakh voters, Kharagpur Sadar hopes to find a candidate who can help with solving the persistent problem of pollution, water crisis and youth unemployment. Assembly constituency number 224 is composed of the Kharagpur Railway settlement, Kharagpur I community development block, and Kharagpur municipality. The people have been hoping to get a leader who might ensure the continuation of developmental works in the area. The constituency, having been a railway junction, hosts a variety of people from across the country, including Telegu, Marathi and Tamil speakers, nearly outnumbering local Bengalis. Dilip Ghosh, having lost his 2024 Lok Sabha bid, is looking at making inroads again by hoping to repeat his 2016 performance, where he had managed to break the streak of 7-time Congress MLA Gyan Singh Sohanpal. Ghosh had left the MLA seat following his election to the Lok Sabha in 2019. Following a bypoll, it was the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) candidate Pradip Sarkar who managed to get a win against the BJP’s Prem Chandra Jha. However, the win lasted only till 2021, when BJP’s Hiramoy Chattopadhyay managed to wrest the seat back from the party. Chattopadhyay is now contesting from the Shyampur constituency. Congress has also fielded Papiya Chakraborty. The upcoming elections follow the 2021 battle, where the TMC secured a landslide 213 seats. However, the BJP’s growth from a minor player to 77 seats in the last cycle has set the stage for the current high-stakes confrontation. West Bengal is set for two phases of assembly polls on April 23 and 29, with the results set for May 4.
