LS polls: "Why are heavyweight leaders visiting Cooch Behar?" asks Congress candidate Piya Roy Chowdhury

COOCH BEHAR: Congress' candidate from Cooch Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal, Piya Roy Chowdhury, questioned why heavyweight leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, are visiting the area amid the ongoing election campaign.

The Cooch Behar parliamentary seat is currently held by the BJP. Nisith Pramanik, the incumbent BJP MP and Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, won the seat in 2019 and is seeking re-election from Cooch Behar.

This time, he is up against TMC's Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia. Congress has named Piya Roy Chowdhury as its candidate for Cooch Behar. While speaking to ANI, Piya Roy Chowdhury, said, "First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, former Congress presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, and Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury for giving me the ticket." "I am very fortunate that I have the opportunity to contest such a big election... I would like to say that the other two candidates do not have any acceptance in Cooch Behar.

My acceptance and biodata are known to everyone. I want to do something good," Chowdhury said. Replying to a query, she said, "The big question is: Why are there big personalities and heavyweight leaders coming here?" She also urged the Election Commission to ensure a free and fair election in West Bengal. "Violence-free elections never happen here; this is the saddest part. The vote is a festival. If the election happens free and fair, Congress will have a very good majority. I request the Election Commission to let this election be free and fair," the Congress candidate said.

Earlier this week, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held a rally in Cooch Behar and urged the voters to remove the BJP from power to "protect the country's independence," adding that if the BJP wins, there will be no elections. "I am clearly saying, remember, this election is not an ordinary election, all of India has understood today. You also understand that if you want to protect the freedom of the country, then remove the BJP, save the country, and remember, otherwise there will be no freedom in the country," she said at a rally in Cooch Behar.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also held a public meeting in Cooch Behar earlier this month and attacked the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in the state for "protecting the accused" in the Sandeshkhali incidents that rocked the state. He said that only the BJP can stop atrocities against women, adding that the party has resolved to ensure punishment for the accused in the Sandeshkhali incidents. "Here, TMC, Leftists, and Congress might look like they're fighting each other, but behind the curtains, they are all partners in Delhi. They want to save those involved in ration scams and teacher recruitment scams. Bundles of notes were recovered from the houses of TMC leaders. They want to save these leaders," he said.

"It is the BJP alone that can stop atrocities against women here. The whole country has seen how the TMC government tried its best to protect the accused in Sandeshkhali.

The BJP has resolved to ensure punishment for the accused in the Sandeshkhali incident. They will have to spend their lives in jail," PM Modi added.

Polling in the 42 parliamentary constituencies in West Bengal will be held across all seven phases: April 19, April 26, May 4, May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1. The counting of votes is scheduled for June 4.

The Cooch Behar will vote in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls on April 19.

Though the TMC in part of the INDIA bloc, it does not have a seat-sharing arrangement with the other parties in the alliance, like Congress and the Left parties in the state.

In the 2019 elections, the BJP marked a strong improvement, taking its tally from 2 in 2014 to 18 against the TMC's 22. The Congress's tally dropped to just 2 seats, while the Left scored a blank.