Eight Lok Sabha seats in south Bengal will go for polling tomorrow which is the fourth phase of the general election. Of the eight seats, five seats are currently with the Trinamul Congress while BJP got two seats and Congress one seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. Two actor-turned-politicians, a doctor and two cricketers of international repute are on the ballot in the election today.

Elaborate arrangements have been made to ensure peace during the election. The polling will start at 7.30 a.m. and continue will 5 p.m. There will be central forces, police observers and general observers to ensure free and fair election. There will be Quick Response Teams (QRT) along with state police personnel. The polling, presiding officers and workers left for the respective polling stations with Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) this afternoon under heavy police protection. The EVMS will be kept in the strong rooms.

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Before the election starts, they will be demonstrated before the representatives of different political parties. Baharampur Lok Sabha seat is likely to witness a stiff fight between the sitting Congress MP Adhir Chowdhury and Trinamul Congress nominee, internationally renowned cricketer Yusuf Pathan.

Over the years, the vote bank of Congress in the seat has witnessed erosion. In the 2019 election Chowdhury had won by 65,000 votes. In 2021 Assembly election, the Baharampur seat went to the BJP while Trinamul Congress had won all the six remaining seats falling within the Parliamentary constituency. Trinamul Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee and party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee have been holding meetings and road shows in the constituency. In Krishnagar, Trinamul Congress sitting Mr Mohua Moitra will face Amrita Roy of the Krishnagar Royal family. Roy was Narendra Modi’s selection.

Both Mr Modi and Amit Shah held meetings in Krishnagar. Mamata Banerjee started her campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha poll from Krishnagar. Later Miss Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee held meeting and road in the constituency in support of Ms Moitra. In Ranaghat, Dr Mutkutmani Adhikari who recently joined the party from the BJP is the Trinamul Congress nominee. In 2019, Jagannath Sarkar of BJP had won the election from the seat.

The Matua vote will play a major role in the election both in Krishnagar and Ranaghat. In East Burdwan Trinamul Congress has fielded Dr Sharmila Sarkar. The party’s organisation is strong in East Burdwan. Burdwan- Durgapur is likely to witness a close fight between the BJP and Trinamul Congress. The BJP has fielded Dilip Ghosh who was the MP from Kharagpur and replaced the sitting MP SS Ahluwallia who is contesting from Asansol. Trinamul Congress has fielded ace cricketer Kirti Azad against Mr Ghosh.

Trinamul’s organisation network is very strong. Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee held meetings and road shows in favour of Mr Azad. Actor-turned-politician and the sitting Trinamul Congress MP Shatrughan Sinha will fight against SS Ahluwalliah in Asansol Lok Sabha seat. Mr Sinha had won by over 3 lakh votes in 2019 Lok Sabha election. In Bolpur and Birbhum actor-turned-politician Shatabdi Roy, three time MP, and Asit Kumar Mal are contesting from the seats. Both the seats are under Trinamul Congress. This is for the first time that the absence of Anubrata Mondol, the party’s district president, who is now in jail, will be felt in the Lok Sabha election. It is to be seen whether Trinamul Congress can increase its seat tally or retain them in the elections tomorrow.