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The BJP on Sunday sprung a surprise as it announced former Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) and noted economist Ashok Lahiri as a candidate for the upcoming Assembly polls in West Bengal.
Lahiri, who was a member of the 15th Finance Commission and worked with Union Finance Ministers Jaswant Singh and P Chidambaram, will contest the North Bengal seat of Alipurduar – a semi-urban constituency with a tea garden-centric economy and tribal populace.
Lahiri was appointed as a part-time member of the 15th Finance Commission in November 2017, and in April 2018, elevated as a full-time member.
The other surprises, in a list of 27 names announced by the BJP, include four MPs – three from the Lok Sabha and one from Rajya Sabha – and at least four “celebrity” candidates.
So far, the BJP has named close to 100 candidates for the 294-seat Bengal Assembly. First-time Lok Sabha MPs Locket Chatterjee will contest from the semi-urban constituency of Chinsurah, while Nishit Pramanik will contest in the rural constituency of Dinhata in North Bengal.
Two-time MP Babul Supriyo will fight in the urban constituency of Tollygunge, while journalist-turned-politician and MP Swapan Dasgupta will contest in the semi-urban constituency and temple town of Tarakeshwar.
“This will be amongst my first foray into electoral politics. I will begin campaigning tomorrow onwards,” Dasgupta told BusinessLine .
Lahiri as State FM
According to Bishwanath Chakraborty, a political analyst, the nominations make it clear that the BJP is pushing for “credible Bengali faces” in the 2021 polls.
“Ashok Lahiri is likely to be pitched as the Finance Minister, should the BJP come to power here. Bringing in MPs like Babul Supriyo is also an indication that the BJP is looking at acceptable and credible urban faces who are also Bengalees. Meanwhile, nomination of other MPs like Locket or Nishit in Assemnly polls is being done primarily to stem any factional feuds in areas like Hooghly and satisfy specific communities like Rajbingshis over which some leaders have sway,” he explained.
The induction of celebrities too were on expected lines, Chakraborty explained adding that this was needed to counter the “star power” that the Trinamool has been highlighting for some time now. The four actors named today are Yash Dasgupta – a Bengali superstar; and three actresses – Payel Sarkar, Tonushree Chakraborty and Anjana Basu.
89-year-old in fray
Meanwhile, life has come a full circle for Mamata Banerjee. Her one-time trusted general and hero of the Singur anti-land acquisition movement Rabindranath Bhattacharjee will take on Mamata’s nominee Becharam Manna in the Singur seat.
The 89-year-old Bhattacharjee is perhaps the oldest candidate in the electoral fray. Bhattacharjee’s nomination is primarily because of his “clean image”, say BJP sources.
“Bhattacharjee may not have organisational strength like Suvendu (Adhikari), but he has a clean image that no other leader in Bengal enjoys,” political analyst Bishwanath Chakroborty added. With Bhattacharjee’s change-over, Mamata’s Singur and Nandigram generals are now her betes noires.
On expected lines, two other big ticket Trinamool defectors, Rajiv Banerjee and Dipak Halder, have also been nominated.
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