Goliath defends forte against David

Murshidabad, Apr 30 (UNI) With the fourth phase of polling in three Bengal districts knocking at the doors, Kandi in the Congress- stronghold Murshidabad district Will steal the arc light for the wrong reasons-- a Goliath fighting a David and the Congress fighting the Congress.

As intra-party feud reaches a boiling point in this district, put into a bitter test is the fate of Congress Legislature Party Leader Atish Chandra Sinha, eight time winner and scion of Kandi's royal family, who finds an unlikely opponent in the party's district President Adhir Ranjan Choudhury, fighting a proxy war with him through a rebel candidate.

Having had the unparallel record of getting elected to the Assembly since 1970, thanks to the loyalty of former subjects, Mr Sinha perhaps never dreamt of a challenge from an otherwise pushover, backed to the hilt by Mr Choudhury, a Congress strongman who has powered his way to be the Congress mainstay in the district for over a decade.

As a bitter row between the rival factions kept even the Congress High Command on tenterhooks and delayed the process of finalising list of candidature, Mr Choudhury put 'independent' candidates against the official nominees in Behrampore, Hariharapara and Kandi--the three key constituencies in the district.

He fielded Apurba Sarkar, nicknamed 'David', against the 'Raja Babu', as Mr Sinha is known in Kandi.

Even as Mr Sarkar, the Chairman of Kandi Municipality, looks too light a fellow in the infantry to take on Mr Sinha's royal cavalry, the larger than life image of Mr Choudhury, the 'Robinhood of Murshidabad', casts its imposing shadow on the constituency.

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