Congress supporters in Murshidabad’s Suti Assembly segment hit the streets on Monday to protest against renomination of sitting MLA Humayun Reza.
The Congress had released the third list of candidates for the Assembly polls, which it would contest as part of the Sanyukt Morcha, on Sunday.
About 500 Congress workers took out a rally in Suti’s Aurangabad market area under the leadership of the party’s vice-president for Suti Block 2 committee Abdul Khalek. Members of nine area committees in the block participated in the rally.
The dissidents were carrying placards against Reza’s nomination and announced they would not campaign for him.
“In 2016, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had announced that I would be the candidate in the next polls. But, this time again, Humayun Reza has been nominated,” said Alfajuddin Biswas, the block president of Suti block 2 Congress committee.
Although Biswas wasn’t present at Monday’s rally, Congress sources said he was the man behind the agitation. The source said Biswas had hoped for a ticket for the 2021 polls, but was upset with Reza’s re-nomination. Later, the dissidents met at Biswas’s office and decided to field an Independent against Reza.
“Someone or the other will be fielded from our side as an Independent. The angry workers will otherwise switch parties,” Biswas said.
The dissidents alleged Reza had the least public acceptability because he had done little for the people of his constituency in the past five years.
“Most of the people in Suti are labourers in the beedi industry. In the past three years, there has been no increase in their wages and the MLA has never pushed for any increment,” said Atiur Rahman, a local Congress leader. He also alleged Reza had worked in favour of the beedi factory owners.
Reza, however, remains undeterred with the discontent. “It is true there are some issues. However, everything will be sorted through discussions and I’ve asked the leadership to hold talks with the dissidents,” he said.
On the other hand, Congress’s sitting MLA of Murshidabad’s Burwan Protima Rajak resigned from all her posts on Sunday just before the list of candidates was announced. Rajak was denied a ticket this time and the party fielded Shiladitya Halder from Burwan. Rajak said she hadn’t decided whether she would join another party.
The Congress has so far declared the list of candidates for 91 Assembly constituencies. However, in four Assembly seats — Baghmundi, Joynagar, Ballygunj and Joypur — the alliance is still in deep waters. Both the Left and the Congress have fielded candidates for Baghmundi and Joypur in Purulia. Ballygunj in Calcutta and Joynagar in South 24-Parganas were supposed to be Congress seats, but the CPM has already nominated candidates in the two seats.
However, according to a senior Congress leader, all the disputes will be settled amicably in a few days.
Congress has re-nominated most of its sitting MLAs for 2021, including Abdul Mannan, Manoj Chakraborty, Nepal Mahato, Sukhbilas Burma, and Sunil Tirkey.
Abbas Siddiqui’s Indian Secular Front also announced the names of 20 candidates. The ISF has so far been allotted 26 seats in its seat sharing adjustment with the Left Front. It also announced that it would contest in seats like Deganga and Magrahat, apart from the 26 seats they had been assigned.
