Located in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, Basirhat, under which Sandeshkhali falls, went to polls during the seventh phase of the Lok Sabha elections on June 1. The TMC decided to field Sk Nurul Islam from the seat, while the BJP announced the candidature Rekha Patra — one of the women from Sandeshkhali who protested against Sheikh. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) had announced Nirapada Sardar as its nominee.
With Muslims forming over 50 per cent of the population, Basirhat has traditionally been a TMC bastion. However, many TMC leaders had feared that the recent protests and the resentment among local residents might dent the party’s performance in the seat.
The quiet on the roads was interrupted around 4 pm after the ninth round of counting of votes when Islam was declared to be leading by 57,856 votes ahead of Patra. TMC workers started celebrating by playing with green gulal and bursting crackers.
A few metres away, at Patra’s home, her mother-in-law Anupama was glued to the television screen watching the election results. “We have no political backgro
und and Rekha was chosen to fight on a BJP ticket. There were many who supported the protest here, but after Shahjahan Sheikh’s arrest, the entire picture changed. We will go back to my son, who works in Tamil Nadu,” she said.
Around a kilometer away, a resident of Nakashipara, on condition of anonymity said, “The TMC has won by large numbers and we have nothing to say. We have been already identified as BJP supporters, now if we talk we will be in trouble. Forget Basirhat there are seats everyone thought BJP would win from but even those went to TMC.”
On the other side of the river in Sandeshkhali, a bunch of toto drivers, looked disheartened with the elections results. “We had high hopes this time. Sandeshkhali remained in the news for months but now that TMC has won , we have to accept it and move on. If we don’t celebrate it will give a message that we are BJP supporters, why invite such trouble?,” said toto drivers Ram Prashad Kandar and Abani Raftan.
Click here for real-time updates on the Lok Sabha Election Results 2024