India: Assam and Bengal will enter into their third phase of elections today. Nandigram being the epicentre in Bengal is being battled between the current CM and her aide turned rival. Thirty constituencies in Bengal and 39 in Assam are voting today.
West Bengals Nandigram, in East Medinipur, under the directions of CM Mamatha Banerjee, Suvendu Adhikari anchored a popular uprising against a chemical hub in 2007 that had a domino effect and toppled the Left Front after their 34-year-rule in the state.
Upset with CM’s nephew, Suvendu joined TMC to join BJP and since then he has donned the role of an aggressive right winger, running a polarising campaign. Later, his father also changed sides to BJP along with his brothers.
This being the first polls during the pandemic, the parties will adhere to strict precautions and contest for nine seats of Paschim Medinipur, eight in Bankura, four in South 24 Parganas and nine seats in Purba Medinipur.
In Assam, 4 ministers and the deputy speaker are bidding on 39 seats out of the 126 seats. The ministers who are contesting include Parimal Suklabaidya, Piyush Hazarika, and Bhabesh Kalita. Deputy Speaker Aminul Haque Laskar of the BJP is in a straight fight against AIUDF’s Karim Uddin Barbhuiyan in Sonai.
The Bengali dominated Barak Valley is of key importance. Almost 15 seats are being allotted to this region. AIUDF’s Badruddin Ajmal, who joined hands with the Congress, is expected to be a key player in this area, with the population equally divided between Hindus and Muslims.