Pitted against him is Trinamool’s Pradip Sarkar, a former legislator and municipality chairman, known for his work at the ground level. But the fight here is not two-cornered. There are nine candidates in the fray, including two independents. Originally a Left bastion, the seat was usurped by Congress. But in 2016, Ghosh made a debut from the seat by defeating Congress’ Gyan Singh Sohanpal. Known as “mini-India”, it has people from all across the country – a Telugu population, Punjabis, Marwaris and other communities living here for generations. A college student, Gurvir Singh, sums up this election: “Making a choice is tough for voters. Ghosh has worked as an MLA and MP. He is a popular candidate. Sarkar is also a good candidate. As municipal chairman, he has worked for the town and roads.” Another local, Vijay Kumar, a Marwari, living here for 60 years, and runs a medical shop, told ET, “Both BJP and Trinamool candidates are good. But to bring about a ‘change’ in Bengal, we have to make a careful choice and will vote for BJP. Fifteen years is a long period and time for change has come.” “BJP will come to power with a huge majority. I am confident about that. We will win seats in and around Kolkata in huge numbers,” Ghosh told ET. Pradip Sarkar, who was the municipal chairman, has been working for the people directly.”Sarkar has made the roads better and the city has lights,” said Mohd Umar from Ward 4. Many citizens told ET that being a sportsperson himself, Sarkar has worked to promote sports in the city and organised cricket tournaments. He started a cricket academy, which won many hearts.
Sher Ali Khan, a Trinamool leader, explained how party’s internal feud may help the BJP win an easy victory. Ghosh had won the seat with a 5,000 margin in 2016. He left the seat and fought the Lok Sabha seat with only Kharagpur (Sadar) giving him a 45,000 lead. When he left the seat, Sarkar won the seat in the by-poll. Sarkar’s second attempt in 2021, however, ended in defeat, with BJP’s actor-politician Hiran winning by 3,771 votes.
