Darjeeling, April 18: First phase of the most politically exciting Assembly elections in West Bengal beings on Monday.
An estimated 97.4 lakh people are expected to vote in 54 constituencies across 6 districts – Coochbehar, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling and Malda. All polling booths will be manned by central forces.
It is going to be a make-or-break battle for the Left as the TMC-Congress alliance is making an historic bid to wrest power. But identity politics will play a major role in this election.
Identity politics is clearly the deciding factor in the hills of Darjeeling and in the plains of Dooars, while elsewhere it’s a fight between the Left and its Opposition for political supremacy.
As TMC-Congress alliance is making an historic bid to wrest power in West Bengal, can the Left, battling anti-incumbency, survive the onslaught? Or will the rebel factor in the opposition camp shore up the Left, since the Congress is struggling to contain its rebel candidates threatening to eat into the Opposition vote share?
Trinamool ally SUCI is yet another thorn for the Congress. It is fighting the Congress in nine seats in Monday’s first phase.
“The opposition unity is a necessity to rout the Left and the defectors will be punished,” said Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee.
Trinamool and Congress are sharing 27 seats each amongst themselves across six districts of North Bengal that also covers the Gorkha population of the hills.
The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha is contesting from four seats for the first time, while in the plains of Dooars, the Adivasi Vikas Parishad is contesting in five seats. Both these parties are likely to dent the seat share of the Left and also its principal Opposition.
The battle for north Bengal is the prelude to what Bengal would witness in the remaining five phases. The region has polarised Left and Congress pockets and belts that are dominated by ethnic groups.
But it’s the outcome of the bare-knuckle fight between the Left and the Congress-Trinamool combine to penetrate each other’s territories that would decide who wins round one.