Kolkata, Apr 12 (UNI) Senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and former state transport minister Madan Mitra is confident to win the Kamarhati Assembly seat this time as he is pitted against BJP candidate Anindya (Raju) Banerjee and CPI(M) nominee Sayandeep Mitra.
Mitra, who lost from the Kamarhati assembly constituency in the North 24 Parganas district during the last assembly polls, doesn’t want to remember the 2016 defeat at the hands of CPI(M) candidate Manas Mukherjee.
In 2016, Manash Mukherjee of CPI(M) won the seat by defeating Madan Mitra from Trinamool Congress with a margin of 4198 votes.
In the 2011 election, Madan Mitra defeated his nearest rival Manas Mukherjee with a margin of 24354 votes.
Kamarhati Assembly seat is falling under Dum Dum Lok Sabha constituency.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Trinamool Congress candidate Sougata Ray won from Dum Dum Lok Sabha (MP) Seat with a margin of 53002 votes by defeating Samik Bhattacharya from Bharatiya Janata Party.
After elected from Kamarhati in 2011, Mamata Banerjee offered him a cabinet rank, making him the state minister for transport and sports.
However, Mitra was forced to relinquish the cabinet position and membership in the Legislative Assembly when his reputation was blemished in the Saradha chit fund scam and subsequent arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The maverick politician of Bengal is considered as very few of the mass leaders in TMC after Mamata Banerjee.
Known as one of the funniest politicians in the state, Mr Mitra was arrested once and sent to judicial custody for his alleged involvement in the Sharada chit fund scam. Since then, he has been interrogated repeatedly by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials in Kolkata in connection with the probe into the Saradha chit fund scam.
Mr Mitra remains unfazed, he said he will continue to cooperate with the investigation. He reminds those in the room that the investigation into the scam, which surfaced in 2011, has not reached any logical conclusion.
He is convinced Bengal is seeking her daughter (read Mamata Banerjee) and Kamarhati will have its son (read Mitra).
Mr Mitra said he is driven only by loyalty to his Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee.
“She is my biggest support. She is an exceptional leader. She will soon be called one of the greatest leaders of Bengal. She will retain Bengal for three consecutive terms,” he said.
Mr Mitra this year celebrated the festival of colours with Payel Sarkar, Srabonti Chatterjee and Tanushree Chakraborty, who are contesting the assembly elections on BJP tickets from Kolkata's Behala East and Behala West seats and Howrah's Shyampur respectively.
Singing popular Holi-special Bengali song, 'Khelbo Holi rong debona...', the former Bengal minister said, "They are my friends. We have known each other for many years. There shouldn't be any politics on Holi. I invited them and they are here."
Kamarhati will vote in the fifth phase of the polls on April 17.
UNI BM RN