Battle for Asansol Lok Sabha constituency is one of the most keenly followed contest among the 42 seats in West Bengal. To match BJP's star candidate Babul Supriyo, TMC has fielded actress Moon Moon Sen who is incumbent TMC MP from Bankura.
In the last election, Babul defeated TMC's Dola Sen by a margin of 70 thousand votes. It was mainly due to TMC's internal fight that many workers supported BJP which aided the Modi wave and helped Babul create history from Asansol. This time though TMC has rejigged their strategy and have fielded Moon Moon Sen from this constituency. Historically, TMC has never won from Asansol. Even its parent party Congress last won in 1984, during the wave election.
Asansol has long been a Left bastion with CPI(M) winning the seat 10 times. Thus Moon Moon Sen is fully aware of the challenges and she is trying to use her celebrity power to the hilt. She is carrying a picture of her mother iconic filmstar Suchitra Sen during the campaign. "I am Suchitra Sen's daughter. When I come to Asansol, I feel her beside me," Sen was quoted by PTI as saying. This hasn't gone down well with Babul Supriyo who told PTI, "She is calling workers from Bihar police ka khabri and calling me a servant. She is invoking her dead mother for votes... It's deplorable. Why would people vote for Suchitra Sen's soul's peace? When did Suchitra Sen becomes TMC's. She has got a lot of love and adulation from the people when she was alive and rather than be happy, her soul would be very sad when she sees her daughter in a mafia party flanked by coal mafias".
It is no surprise that Babul has latched onto Sen's alleged remarks about Biharis as with close to 50% non-Bengali electorate among the 16 lakh voters, Asansol is one of the most cosmopolitan Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal. Majority of the non-Bengali population are migrant workers from Bihar and Jharkhand who work in the coal belt of Asansol. BJP is hoping to get a major chunk of that vote but Asansol Mayor and TMC MLA Jitendra Tiwary is looking to scuttle saffron party's plans. Tiwary is essentially driving Moon Moon Sen's campaign and is looking to bring all factions of the party together.
CPI(M) has fielded a strong candidate in ex-MLA Gouranga Chatterjee. He may not win but is likely to get a decent share of votes and it is unclear who between Babul and Moon Moon will he hurt more. Congress candidate Biswarup Mondal hasn't gained traction among the voters. The assembly segments under Asansol are Pandaveswar, Raniganj, Jamuria, Asansol Dakshin, Asansol Uttar, Kulti and Barabani
Religion is one of the major faultlines in this Lok Sabha constituency particularly after the riots which took place in March-April last year. Imam who had lost his son in communal riots in March 2018 told DNA that Muslims should ensure that their votes are not fragmented. "We want peace to prevail and no life should be jeopardised. We should try not to split votes and cast in favour of a party which will fight communal forces," Maulana Imdadul Rashidi, imam of Noorani Masjid at Sinthla Dangal. Asked which party he think was good to fight communal forces, he said, "People are intelligent to make choice.".
There is around 15% minority voters in the Asansol Lok Sabha constituency. Post the riots, Asansol Mayor has ensured that several temples have come up in the area including one belonging to Lord Ram. Opposition alleges that this is TMC's soft-Hindutva policy which the party is forced to do to ensure that it doesn't get backlash from the majority community.
Asansol Mayor told PTI earlier, " This Ram temple is a message for the BJP and RSS, which are trying to divide our society in the name of religion. Hindus and Muslims have been living in harmony for decades the BJP has been trying to create a wedge between the two for last few years to serve its own political purpose". TMC believes that it would also be a positive message to the Hindi-speaking community in the constituency.
TMC in its campaign is also trying to press on the issue of industries closing down in the area over last five years and they are putting the blame on the Modi government.
Overall, Asansol is a close contest between two-star candidates with multiple factors in varying proportion likely to impact the final results. Asansol consisting of assembly segments Pandaveswar,Raniganj,Jamuria, Asansol Dakshin, Kulti, Asansol Dakshin and Barabani goes to polls on April 29.
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