BALURGHAT: Amid the cheers of BJP supporters, the Delhi-bound Farakka Express has been rescheduled. From April 15, it will start from Balurghat. If MP and state BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar sees it as his achievement, for landless Mojidur Sarkar, it will ease the journey of thousands of labourers leaving the district regularly for jobs in Delhi and beyond.
Dinajpur, the paddy land of Bengal, is competing with Malda and Murshidabad in sending migrant labourers to other states as they do not find any opportunities at home.Acute water crisis in Tapan, Gangarampur or Kumarganj or the fall in price of agricultural produce could hardly be improved with the change in representatives.
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If his 'bhadralok' image gives a dividend to Majumder, the introduction of new trains from Balurghat will surely make an impact among the voters.
But his greatest challenge remains the lack of organization at the booth level. The panchayat and municipal polls have proved this. His further challenge lies in the result of the 2021 assembly election in which four out of seven seats were won by Trinamool.
TMC also have its problems here. Former MP Arpita Ghosh was never well accepted by old warhorses like Biplab Mitra.
The battle here remains between TMC and BJP, though the Left had fielded RSP candidate Joydeb Siddhnata, who hopes to bring back the traditional Left voters under his fold.