Two-way fight with CPI(M) candidate as the dark horse.
Result: Dum Dum Lok Sabha went to polls on 19th May, on the last phase. Here are the results
Final Update:
As rounds went on Saugata Roy built on his lead and finally defeated Shamik Bhattacharya by 53,002 votes.
At 11.50 AM, TMC's Saugata Roy narrowly ahead of BJP's Shamik Bhattacharya by around 10 thousand votes.
Constituency profile:
Dum Dum Lok Sabha constituency located at the northern fringe of Kolkata is expected to see an intense contest with TMC, BJP and CPI(M) all fielding strong candidates. Congress too is in fray though they are unlikely to win.
Dum Dum, an erstwhile Left citadel witnessed a political earthquake when Tapan Sikdar of BJP won in 1998. He repeated the feat in 1999. Many believe it was the Left cadres who supported TMC - BJP alliance in Dum Dum alliance as they were unhappy with the leadership.
Nearly two decades later, it is the dedicated left voters who may make the difference in Dum Dum. Across Bengal, it is widely assumed 'Bam Vote Ram-e', ie Bam (Left) is voting for Ram (BJP). But in Dum Dum, Left's conundrum is bigger. In Nepaldeb Bhattacharya, they have a veteran campaigner who knows in and out of the constituency, has a high recall value among the voters owing to his long stint in the organisation. Similarly, one of BJP's brightest face Shamik Bhattacharya is party's candidate from Dum Dum. Former MLA Shamik is known for his razor-sharp political commentary on television is a popular face. BJP's organisation though is considerably depleted here. So their only way of winning is ensuring a big erosion in Left vote and attracting sections of urban TMC voters by Modi's appeal. This is probably the reason PM Modi did a rally here on the last day of campaigning.
TMC candidate two-time MP Saugata Roy is currently sitting pretty. The more anti- TMC votes get divided, it is easier for him. But Roy has his own wounds to heal. His name coming up in the Narada sting case has taken the sheen out of his incorruptible professor image. Also, TMC is facing acute anti-incumbency here, something which was even apparent in 2016 when two of their popular MLAs lost. The assembly segments under Dum Dum are Khardaha, Dum Dum Uttar, Panihati, Kamarhati, Baranagar, Dum Dum and Rajarhat Gopalpur. Out of these, TMC are currently in power in 5 of them.
In 2014, Saugata Roy won 1.55 lakh votes defeating CPI(M)'s Asim Sengupta. Tapan Sikdar came third polling 2.54 lakh votes. In 2009,Roy won narrowly by 20 thousand votes defeating Amitava Nandy. Sikdar got 55 thousand votes. So, combined BJP and CPI(M) votes have been more than TMC in the last two Lok Sabha polls. So a massive transfer of votes can spell doom for TMC. Many experts believe that the Vidyasagar bust destruction incident which happened in the last week of campaigning may have its effect on the undecided voters. Congress Saurav Saha is hoping to make the party relevant in Dum Dum again.
Saugata Roy may be ahead but on 19th May, it can be anyone's game. Historically, the Left has been the dominant party here. They have won five times, BJP twice and TMC twice. 15.5 lakh voters of Dum Dum will script another chapter of history on 23rd May.
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