Trinamool not at ease in its fortress

Elections enter the heart of south Bengal, Mamata Banerjee fortress, with seven Lok Sabha constituencies - Bar Howrah, Bongaon, Serampore, Hooghly, Uluberia and Arambagh - going to polls today.
The constituencies catapulted Mamata and Trinamool Congress to power in Bengal in 2011, the wave of support coming on the back of the Singur land agitation against the Tatas' Nano plant. But things have changed since and Trinamool today is facing challenges in most of these constituencies, particularly infighting.
In Barrackpore, BJP candidate Arjun Singh, who recently quit Trinamool, is giving sleepless nights to former Union minister Dinesh Trivedi, while the Matuas, an influential scheduled caste group, are divided in Bongaon, bordering Bangladesh, that has been witnessing a saffron surge. The Trinamool seems to be in an uncomfortable situation in Serampore and Hooghly as well, with BJP making inroads. The BJP has gained considerable ground in Singur.
Barrackpore, Serampore and Hooghly have a sizeable Hindi-speaking population, mostly jute mill workers and traders of Burrabazar, which BJP is wooing. Although traders have suffered losses due to demonetisation, riots in Chandernagar's Urdibazar and Hazinagar in North 24-Parganas have led to polarisation in some areas. BJP had more than 20% vote share in Barrackpore, Serampore and Howrah in the last Lok Sabha elections in 2014. However, the Trinamool has the edge over all other parties in organisational strength.