Bengal: TMC opts for glamour candidate to extend its dominance in Basirhat

Kolkata, April 15: The schedule for the 17th Lok Sabha election was announced by the Election Commission on Sunday, March 10. The election will be held in seven phases between April 11 and May 19 with the results to be declared on May 23. Of all the states in the country, West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh will witness elections in seven phases.

Here we take a look at all the Lok Sabha constituencies (42) of Bengal and how parties have fared there over the years.

Constituency: BASIRHAT

Date of election: May 19 (Phase 7)

The Basirhat Lok Sabha constituency is located in the North 24 Parganas district and comprises the following segments: Baduria, Haroa, Minakhan (SC), Sandeshkhali (ST), Basirhat Dakshin, Basirhat Uttar and Hingalganj (SC).

What happened in 2014:

The TMC retained the seat in 2014 with its candidate Idris Ali winning against his nearest candidate Nurul Huda of the CPI by 1.09 lakh votes. The BJP's Samik Bhattacharya came third with 2.33 lakh votes and the Congress's Abdur Rahim Quazi receiving just over a lakh votes.

Total electors in Basirhat constituency in 2014 were 14.86 lakh.

Vote share:

The TMC's vote-share in 2014 was 38.64 while the Left got around 30 per cent. The BJP received 18.36 per cent vote share and the Congress eight per cent.

History of Basirhat constituency results: TMC ended CPI dominance in 2009

The CPI dominated Basirhat constituency at a stretch since 1980 till the TMC stalled its run in 2009 and then it retained it in 2014. This time, the party has chosen an actor to contest from the seat to extend its dominance over this seat.

Candidates contesting from Basirhat in 2019:

• TMC: Nusrat Jahan;
• Left: Pallab Sengupta;
• BJP: Sayantan Basu;
• Congress: Abdur Rahim Quazi