Sukuruddin, a 60-year-old Toto operator of Radhikapur village under Tamluk Assembly in Tamluk Lok Sabha constituency of East Midnapore district, is a hardcore Trinamul Congress supporter but this time he has changed his mind and decided to cast his vote to the Congress-backed CPM candidate.

Father of four sons, Sukuruddin felt that Left-Congress combine is safe in terms of secular politics and other issues related to common man while both Trinamul Congress and BJP have their hidden agendas.

“Ekhane kono kaaj nei. Aamar dui chhele darjir kaaj kore, Nepal o kerala te. Aar dui chhele sramik. Dekhchen to aadh ghontar besi holo kono passenger nei. Ekhane netara chakri deoar naam kore koti koti taka ghus niyechhe (There are no jobs here. My two sons work as tailors in Nepal and Kerala while two are daily-wage workers. I’m waiting for passengers for more than half-an-hour. Local leaders have taken bribes from unemployed youths in the name of giving them jobs),” he said adding, “My family and me will vote for CPM candidate this time.”

Sk Samidul, Sk Rajesh and Sk Nazimul Kazi, youths, aged between 22 to 25, of Chandipur, said they will vote for Trinamul Congress because “Didi has given Lakshmir Bhandar and other benefits like Kanyashree, Sabujshree to our mothers and sisters.”

All the three do zari works in Delhi and Punjab and earn around Rs 20,000 a month. “It’s true that here in our state, we haven’t got jobs. Despite that, we would vote for Trinamul Congress. We have come home for couple of weeks and will leave again,” they told this correspondent at Chandipur bus stand on Sunday afternoon.

“BJP is the only alternative for corruption-free good governance in West Bengal at a time when corrupt Trinamul Congress is ruining the state doing appeasement politics. Our candidate Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who has imprisoned so many Trinamul leaders allegedly involved in scams will win with a lead of more than two lakh votes in Tamluk,” said Chandan Maiti, a vegetable seller at Nandakumar Bazar.

BJP has fielded justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, former judge of Calcutta High Court. His two main young rivals are Debangshu Bhattacharya, 28-year-old spokesperson of Trinamul Congress and IT cell head and Sayan Banerjee, 31-year-old candidate of CPM.

Tamluk comprising seven assembly constituencies is one of the most hard-fought seats in the state. In 2019, Trinamul Congress candidate Dibyendu Adhikari had won the seat with a margin of 1.9 lakh votes.

Dibyendu has since joined the saffron camp following his elder brother Suvendu.

To retain Tamluk is a challenge for the Trinamul Congress particularly at a time when the BJP, led by Suvendu made a phenomenal rise by winning three Assembly constituencies, Nandigram, Haldia and Moyna.

The 60-year-old Abhijit Ganguly, reached out to the electorate at Reyapara, Sibrampur Bazar, Saibari, Takapura, Ranichak in Nandigram braving the scorching heat on Sunday afternoon.

“There will be huge opportunities for employment generations across the country if BJP forms the government at the Centre. I am sure we will win with absolute majority this time again. You (voters) vote us to strengthen Modiji’s hands. We have some plans for development of Tamluk,” he said while addressing in a small meeting of hardly 300 people at Ranichak.

“I am 200 per cent sure to win the election because common people who are getting benefits of state government schemes will vote for us. They want Didi to lead Bengal and also the country,” said Debangshu while sharing his future plans for the historic town Tamralipta (now Tamluk) with The Statesman on the way to a roadshow at Chansarpur Bazar, a minority dominated area.

“Unemployment is a major issue not only in Bengal but across the country. It’s true that we need training-based skilled education to generate job opportunities in our state,” he added.

Sayan, young lawyer in Calcutta HC, said, “I have reached out to people as much as possible covering almost all the seven assemblies in Tamluk constituency for nearly past two months and found how young generations are leaving state. For instance, many prominent industries in Haldia industrial zone have been closed down while several others have shifted their units other states.”

“Our prime concern will be revival of Haldia industrial zone to generate job opportunities so that youths can get jobs here instead of rushing to other states. Thousands of unemployed youths in Tamluk have been cheated by TMC leaders when Suvendu Adhikari was in the party. We are fighting against corruption of Trinamul Congress and communal politics of BJP. I am confident of a win,” said Sayan.