In Maniktala, veteran takes on late colleague’s daughter

Kolkata: The Maniktala constituency is set to witness a neck-and-neck contest between veteran politician and five-time MLA Tapas Roy for BJP and first-timer Shrreya Pande, the Trinamool candidate. Though they once shared a family connection — Roy once had a very close association with former MLA Sadhan Pande, Shrreya's father — neither is ready to give an inch in the current election atmosphere.While Shrreya has been campaigning across the entire assembly area, Roy has been focusing more on electoral calculations. She said, "I have a very strong bond with the people of Maniktala, and I stand by them throughout the year, so they know me. I started my campaign 35 days before the election dates were declared." Roy, however, said that several civic issues, including the water supply system, need to be addressed. "After Sadhan Da's death, there was no MLA in Maniktala for a long time, and many areas remained neglected. The law-and-order situation, unemployment, women's safety — these are the issues that need to be addressed immediately," he added.Since Trinamool came to power in Bengal in 2011, Sadhan Pande won the seat thrice — in 2011, 2016 and 2021. After his death, his wife Supti was given the ticket for the 2024 bypoll and won by a margin of 62,312 votes against BJP's Kalyan Choubey. Speaking about contesting against his ex-colleague's daughter, Roy said: "I don't think this will be a factor. Could Rahul Gandhi become Nehru, Indira Gandhi or Rajiv Gandhi? Could Abhishek ever become Mamata Banerjee? People no longer want dynasty politics. The Legislative Assembly is not a place for artists or a beauty parlour, but Mamata Banerjee has filled half the assembly with artists." Shreya, too, dismissed Roy's remarks, saying, "Daddy is always with me in every corner of Maniktala. Sometimes people call me Sadhaner meye, some say Sadhan Da'r meye, and that is a blessing for me. I am confident that I will get their full support."Maniktala comprises eight wards, stretching across Maniktala Main Road, Ultadanga, Phoolbagan, Sealdah and adjoining areas, with a population of 211,214. In Maniktala, 47,778 names were deleted after SIR.In 2021, Sadhan Pande died a few days after the election results. He won by a margin of 20,000 votes against BJP's Kalyan Choubey. In Maniktala, Trinamool's vote share rose from 50.8% in 2021 to 71.6% in 2024, while the BJP's vote share fell from 35.6% to 17.9%.
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