After a hectic spell of the campaign for the Lok Sabha polls that stretched for over 75 days, political parties were gearing up for the results which would be declared on Tuesday. The Telegraph takes a look at how four key candidates spent the day before counting.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury
Congress leader and the party’s Berhampore candidate Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury spent the day in his constituency on Monday. The veteran Congress leader was at his Kasimbazar residence till 1pm. Later, he went to the district Congress office where he interacted with journalists.
Chowdhury was closeted with Congress workers and leaders till the evening. Before calling it a day, Chowdhury is scheduled to return home in the evening and then step out again to spend some time with residents at the Town Club at Gorabazar.
Asked about his plans for Tuesday, Chowdhury said: “I have given necessary instructions to our counting agents. They have been given AICC guidelines and they would act accordingly. I have never visited the counting centre when votes are counted and tomorrow will be no different.”
Md Salim
CPM state secretary and the party’s Murshidabad candidate Md Salim’s day took a delegation of party candidates to meet the chief electoral officer in Calcutta.
Speaking to reporters after meeting the EC official, Salim said: “We had come to ask the Election Commission about the steps it had taken on the petition that leaders of the INDIA bloc had submitted to the CEC in New Delhi on Sunday. We also told him that our candidates had fought the electoral battle and the counting should be done fairly. Police and administrative officials should not be used to loot votes.”
Salim said the EC was told to keep in mind the malpractices of the panchayat elections and the panel must take steps to avoid such things on Tuesday.
Later in the day, he left for Berhampore where the counting for the Murshidabad Lok Sabha seat will be held. Salim reached Berhampore around 6.30pm and held meeting with local CPM leaders. A CPM leader said Salim would be present at the counting centre on Tuesday.
Mahua Moitra
Trinamool’s Krishnanagar candidate Mahua Moitra arrived in her constituency on Monday night.
Moitra began the day holding meetings with members of her poll management at his Krishnanagar office.
Moitra, who was expelled as an MP in the last Lok Sabha in connection with the cash-for-query case, looked confident of victory.
A Trinamool leader in Krishnanagar said: “Mahua-di looked cool and did show no tension regarding tomorrow’s outcome. Throughout her campaign and even today, she aired confidence about defeating the BJP candidate. Today, she conveyed necessary instructions to her lieutenants about how to conduct themselves on counting day.”
After meeting party leaders, she took a break before going to attend a specially convened meeting at the Krishnanagar Municipality guest house. There, Moitra spoke to her counting agents.
“Mahua, who was looking very composed, explained the responsibilities of the counting agents and asked them to be very careful while counting each vote,” said a senior Trinamool leader present at the meeting.
However, repeated efforts over the phone from this newspaper to get her response went unanswered.
Sukanta Majumdar
The BJP’s state president and candidate from Balurghat, Sukanta Majumdar, spent the entire day in his constituency on Monday. Starting from his residence in the morning, he proceeded to the party office to convene with party workers, providing them with essential instructions ahead of the counting day. Majumdar also engaged with journalists, emphasising the importance of perseverance until the completion of the counting process.
“I have instructed all party members to remain steadfast until the candidate receives the winning certificate,” he asserted. Reflecting on the significance of the upcoming election, he expressed confidence in BJP’s potential for a historic performance in the state.
“The Prime Minister is closely monitoring developments in Bengal,” he added.
