Kolkata:The Chandipur assembly constituency in East Midnapore district this time will witness a high-stake battle between ruling Trinamool Congress and BJP as the ruling TMC nominated Bengali actor Soham Chakraborty from this seat.
The actor-turned-politician is pitted against BJP candidate Pulak Kanti Guriya.The Chandipur assembly seat is currently held by Amiyakanti Bhattacharjee of TMC.
In the 2016 Assembly Elections, he beat Mangal Chand Pradhan of CPI(M) Bhattacharjee got a 48.52 per cent vote.
‘I am thankful to Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee for believing me. Politics, like all other fields, has its challenges. I will try my best to keep their faith,” Soham said after nominated by the party from Chandipur.
Soham started his election campaign by worshipping at the Shiva Durga Temple in the Vibhishanpur area. As soon as they hit the bike in Vibhishanpur area, the women of the area greeted them with conch shells.
The 36-year-old was also seen attacking BJP Nandigram candidate Suvendu Adhikari on his branding of TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee as “extortionist”. “How dare he! He is calling Abhishek Banerjee extortionist. Whereas he was seen taking money on TV,” Soham said.
He also invoked the outsider-insider debate, TMC’s go-to strategy in the party’s campaign for the upcoming polls.Soham warned BJP to not create tension in West Bengal.
“We the workers of Trinamool Congress are soldiers of Mamata Banerjee. To protect Bengal and keep it safe is our responsibility,” he said.
Soham went to the doorsteps of the locals and campaigned with the common people. He explained that mother-land-people are the real wealth of Bengal.
The actor was also seen begging for votes from the old mothers of rural Bengal. He listened to their advantages and disadvantages. On the other hand, the local people were also happy to get the Trinamool Congress star candidate so close and behave like the son of his house.
In the middle of the campaign, Soham said, the centre next to Nandigram in Chandipur. Mamata Banerjee is fighting against Nandigram. The team leader is by his side. So he is not so scared.
In Soham's words, "The respect that Mamata Banerjee has given to every artist since she came to power before. The leaders who have given the responsibility of the industry on their shoulders are notable personalities of the society. They are looking at how to take the industry forward.”
Meanwhile, the local people were fascinated by the example of 'harmony' that Soham set during his election campaign at the Chandipur Assembly constituency.
Born on March 4, 1984, Soham has appeared in more than 100 Bengali films, as a child artist ( Master Bittu ) and as a male lead.
He earned numerous accolades, including Uttam Kumar Awards, BFJA Awards and Star Jalsha Entertainment Awards.Soham made his Tollywood debut in 1988 with the popular Bengali film Choto Bou.
Early in his career, he was recognised as Master Bittu featured in several super hit films as a child artist including Mangal Deep in 1989, Nayan Moni in 1989, Jowar Bhata in 1990, the great Satyajit Ray directed film Shakha Proshakha in 1990, Bhagya Debata in 1997, starring Mithun Chakraborty and several other noted films.
He was awarded Uttam Kumar Awards twice as Child Artist of the year for his performance in Jowar Bhata (1991) and Shakha Proshakha (1990). He has appeared in several television series and has played supporting roles in films in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Soham has a significant following in West Bengal, Assam and other adjacent states in India and Bangladesh. He is a member of the All India Trinamool Congress and the Vice President of All India Trinamool Youth Congress.
He contested in the 2016 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election from Borjora Constituency but CPI (M) candidate Sujit Chakraborty won the seat with a margin of 616 votes
Elections to Bengal's 294-member Assembly will be held in eight phases with the results to be declared on May 2.(UNI)