The BJP that has been promoting the “double engine” narrative in Bengal is now fighting against “twin odds” in Malda in the concluding lap of the Assembly elections.

First, two BJP candidates — Sreerupa Mitra Choudhury, fielded from Englishbazar, has been detected with Covid-19, while Gopal Chadra Saha contesting from Maldaha was shot at by miscreants on April 18 and is recuperating at home — have had to pull out of the campaign trail in the last leg.

Second, the candidates in five seats — Baishnabnagar, Sujapur, Englishbazar, Maldaha and Manikchak — out of the six segments where elections would be held in the district on Thursday will have to compete with dissidents contesting as Independents.

“We are majorly hamstrung because of these two developments and our poll prospects are suspect,” said a senior district BJP leader.

Malda is a district that has a minority population of around 55 per cent and 12 Assembly seats. Elections were held in half of the seats on April 26.

Since the commencement of the poll campaign, the BJP has played the polarisation card in Malda consistently to consolidate Hindu votes in constituencies like Englishbazar and Maldaha with a high concentration of Hindus.

Polling personnel leave Malda Polytechnic for booths on Wednesday. Soumya De Sarkar

“The absence of the candidates from the campaign and also on the poll day would be a loss,” said Gobinda Chandra Mandal, the Malda district BJP president.

“But ours is an organised party and our supporters vote looking at the symbol,” he added, putting up a brave face even as reports from the ground level are different.

The absence of the candidates from the campaign trail, however, is not the only woe facing the BJP that had high expectations from the district.

Unlike earlier years, a number of disgruntled BJP leaders have filed nominations as Independents in five seats.

“Only the Mothabari seat has no BJP dissident... There is always an apprehension of vote split and we have to ensure that our supporters vote for the official candidates and not dissidents,” said a district BJP leader.

He said two former BJP leaders had filed nominations in Manikchak in protest against the party’s decision to field Gour Chandra Mandal, the sabhadhipati of Malda zilla parishad who had left the Trinamul Congress and joined the BJP earlier this year.

“He is contesting against veteran Trinamul leader Sabitri Mitra. If these dissidents draw votes, the contest would be tougher for our candidate,” the leader said.

That the dissidents are hell-bent on defeating the BJP was evident during their campaign as they went all out attacking the party’s state and central leadership.

“We want to teach the BJP a lesson here for embracing a turncoat who had tormented innocent BJP workers when he was in Trinamul,” said Anil Chandra Mandal, a dissident BJP leader who is contesting as Independent in Manikchak.

Other dissident candidates like Harendranath Sarkar of Baishnabnagar and Aditya Prakash Dasgupta, a veteran RSS activist who is contesting in Englishbazar, spoke on similar lines.

“Old-timers were neglected. The BJP leadership is so adamant on a win now that they have not cared for principles and ideals which we used to boast of earlier,” said Dasgupta.

The district BJP chief, however, said the dissidents would not have any impact on the hustings.

PHASE 8

Total constituencies: 35

Districts: 4 — Malda, Murshidabad, Birbhum and Calcutta

Number of booths: 11,860

Central forces: 641 companies

Key contests: Bolpur, Jorasanko, Shyampukur, Maniktala and Behrampore