As the political fervor intensifies in West Bengal, the constituencies of Maldaha Uttar, Maldaha Dakshin, Jangipur, and Murshidabad are all set to go to the polls on May 7 (third phase).
The second phase of parliamentary election in West Bengal saw peaceful voting with a turnout of over 76% by 6 pm on Friday. Among the three constituencies, Balurghat had the highest turnout at 72.3%, followed by Raiganj at 71.87%, and Darjeeling at 71.41%. In Phase 1, the voter turnout stood at 77.57%.
Maldaha Uttar (North)
Khagen Murmu, a BJP leader, represents the Maldaha Uttar parliamentary constituency. He is up against Prasun Banerjee, a former IPS Officer, who belongs to the TMC. Congress has fielded Mostaque Alam.
Maldaha Dakshin (South)
Sreerupa Mitra Chowdhury represents BJP in Maldaha Dakshin and she is contesting against Shanawaz Ali Rehan who is affiliated with TMC. Meanwhile, Congress has fielded Isha Khan Choudhury.
Murshidabad
Murshidabad seat will see a contest between CPI-M's Mohd Salim, Trinamool's Abu Taher Khan, and BJP's Gouri Shankar Ghosh. Historically, CPI-M held the seat from 1980 to 1999. Congress won in 2004 and 2009, but CPI-M's Baddruddoza Khan secured it in 2014. In 2019, Abu Taher Khan of Trinamool claimed victory and is running for re-election this time.
Jangipur
The Jangipur Lok Sabha seat has strong ties to the late President Pranab Mukherjee, who contested and won it in 2004 and 2009. After he became President, his son, Abhijit Mukherjee, ran for the seat in 2012 and 2016. In 2019, TMC candidate Khallilur Rahman emerged victorious and is running for re-election. This time, it's a three-cornered fight with BJP's Dhanahjay Ghosh and Congress' Mortazza Hossain also in the race.