WB Assembly Polls: All eyes riveted on Kharagpur Sadar constituency

Kolkata: All eyes are riveted on Kharagpur Sadar constituency in Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate and Bengali actor Hiran Chatterjee is taking on Pradip Sarkar of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the coming Assembly elections in the state.

Hiran was earlier with the TMC’s youth wing before joining the BJP in February.

The actor is desperate to prove himself as the son of Kharagpur by removing the tag of a star candidate.

“I will tell all those who say Hiran is an outsider, my home is in Uluberia. How far is Kharagpur from Howrah?” Commented Hiran.

Hiran, who has just left the grassroots and joined the BJP, wants to work at the grassroots level of the party to save Dilip Ghosh’s image.

BJP state president Dilip Ghosh had won the seat in 2016.

The BJP lost the seat in the 2019 by-election which had to be held because Mr Ghosh had contested and won the local Midnapore Lok Sabha seat earlier that year. Kharagpur Sadar went to the TMC for the first time.

The winner, Pradip Sarkar, secured 47% votes against 39.29 % that Mr Ghosh got in 2016. Sarkar has been fielded again by chief minister Mamata Banerjee against Hiran.

The BJP’s star candidate came to inaugurate one of his election offices in the Kharagpur Malancha area recently. There was a luncheon for the party workers. Hiran did everything besides serving food with his own hands.

The actor said, “I left Trinamool because there are no jobs, no development. Only ‘deem bhaat (rice and eggs)’ for Rs 5 won’t help, it is to fool people. For years nothing happened in Bengal, we need to support PM Modi’s developmental work.”

Hiran’s statement was a direct attack at ‘Maa Canteen’ project launched by Mamata Banerjee. The project is to provide food at a subsidised rate of Rs 5.

The menu has rice, dal, vegetables, and egg curry. The canteens function from 1 pm to 3 pm in all urban civic bodies.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a roadshow at Kharagpur on Sunday evening in support of BJP candidate Hiran Chatterjee.

He urged people to cast votes in favour of BJP candidates in the state and ensure win of Hiran from the Assembly constituency.

Mr Shah was accompanied by BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and party state president Dilip Ghosh.

Thousands of party supporters took part in the rally, which began after sundown, as residents stood on balconies and rooftops to witness the show.

Born on December 19, 1985, at Uluberia in West Bengal, Hiran is known for his work in the Bengali film industry.

He made his acting debut in 2007 with the romantic drama Nabab Nandini. Since then, the actor has appeared in several popular Bengali movies like Bhalobasa Bhalobasa (2008), Chirosathi (2008), Mon Je Kore Uru Uru (2010), Le Halua Le (2012) and Jamai 420 (2015).

In 2013, Hiran turned a singer with the release of the album Bindaass. Notable among his writing credits is the 2012 film Doshomi. (UNI)