Lok Sabha Elections 2024: TMC fights sick industry, civic apathy perceptions in 'swinging' Serampore

Kalyan Banerjee though, rubbished any such possibility and called himself an 'exception' to the trend where voters have swung among five Left, three Congress and two Trinamool MPs in the past few decades.

Kolkata: Voters in West Bengal may have a knack for maintaining status quo in state politics but in the Serampore Lok Sabha constituency, which surprises pollsters every once in a while, incumbent TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee may find himself at the receiving end of electors’ choice this time around.

Banerjee, though, rubbished any such possibility and called himself an “exception” to the trend where voters have swung among five Left, three Congress and two Trinamool MPs in the past few decades.

A senior, albeit maverick, leader and a lawyer in his own right, Banerjee is seeking a re-election from the seat for the fourth consecutive term when the constituency goes to polls on May 20 during the fifth phase with its 16-lakh odd electorate.

Unlike in previous editions of the polls, where the battle remained largely bipolar, Serampore is bracing for a triangular contest in the ensuing elections, a feature that’s likely to add to Banerjee’s discomfiture in terms of a vote swing away from his kitty.

With Banerjee being pitted against his former son-in-law Kabir Shankar Bose of the BJP and CPI-M young Turk Dipsita Dhar, the battle for political supremacy in this former Danish-turned-British colony, which falls largely in the state’s Hooghly district while also encapsulating parts of neighbouring Howrah, is likely to go down to the wire.

Banerjee differs from the perception of anti-incumbency staring at him.

“My USP is that I am well known in national politics as one of the most prominent opposition faces to PM Narendra Modi,” he told PTI.

“There is no anti-incumbency in Bengal. People have their complete faith and trust in Mamata Banerjee. As far as Serampore is concerned, I seem to be an exception to the trend to elect MPs from parties who are in opposition to the one in state power,” he said.

Seated on the banks of the river Hooghly some 40 kilometres away from Kolkata, Serampore offers a mix of three rural and four urban-industrial assembly segments.

It also throws up a host of issues that have taken prominence in poll campaigns, including workforce migration, unauthorised real estate developments along river banks, filling up water bodies and drinking water crisis in the rural belts.

Once a hub for jute mills, Serampore also witnessed a sad decline in the industries where a significant number of units turned sick or shut down on account of alleged workers’ problems.

The biggest industrial setback in the region came in 2015 when the Uttarpara unit of Hindustan Motors, makers of the country’s iconic Ambassador car, shut shop and rendered thousands of employees jobless.

A third of the 1000-acre factory plot was sold to a real estate developer for constructing a residential-cum-commercial complex who, in turn, later chose to part with two-thirds of the plot and hand it over to another company to develop a logistic park which has so far remained a non-starter.

“We are seeking accountability from the MP of 15 years about the projects or schemes he has implemented in his constituency,” said Dipsita Dhar, the Left candidate.

“We are asking why so many jute mills have shut down in Serampore and their plots converted to real estate projects when the industry is booming elsewhere. Why are workers of closed jute mills being denied their PFs and gratuity dues? We are asking whether the real estate condominiums that are being built on river banks are ecologically sustainable,” she said.

Banerjee countered, stating that several jute mills in the area have now resumed operations.

“Some mills had shut down before because of the Centre’s policies. The state labour department took proactive steps to reopen most of them,” he argued.

Dhar sounded worried about the migration of skilled workers from small industries like zari weaving and jewellery manufacturing units which the area was particularly known for even a decade ago.

She attributed sharp wage differences between Bengal and other parts of the country, like Mumbai, to the phenomenon.

The BJP has been closely eyeing the constituency ever since it fielded Bollywood singer-composer Bappi Lahiri in 2014. The crooner finished third by garnering a little over 22 per cent of votes.

The party’s candidate Kabir Shankar Bose, who unsuccessfully contested the 2021 state polls from the same area, said he trusted the “gain in party’s grassroots strength” over the last few years for his victory this time more than Banerjee's anti-incumbency.

“Unlike the Trinamool leader, who was nowhere to be seen during Covid-19 and Amphan cyclone, I stayed with my people, Bose alleged. “I am banking on my work and my party’s strength for a win.” Bose, also a lawyer by profession, was once part of Banerjee’s family and says the sitting MP’s public demeanour and foul mouth could be his nemesis.

“People have moved away from him for his rude behaviour with his party cadres, the general masses and even his friends,” he alleged.

Dhar seconded that contention. “I had called him Mr India for his invisibility from the constituency. But instead of answering my criticism, he launched personal attacks on me and my family. I am glad he did that because he stood exposed before the people,” she said.

Banerjee, however, said his popularity among people remains undiminished because of his penchant for “straightforward talks”.

“People trust me and love me because of my unblemished political career. I have never cheated anyone. I like to be straightforward in my talks which most people like and some may dislike. There’s nothing more to it than that,” he added.