Abhijit Gangopadhyay resigns as Calcutta High Court judge, days later joins BJP

Tamluk (West Bengal):

One of the most watched contests in Bengal Lok Sabha this time is the Tamluk seat contest, with the BJP fielding former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay and Trina More, for his part, selected Debangshu Bhattacharya, the young leader and head of his social media unit.

Mr Gangopadhyay, who resigned as a judge earlier this month and joined the BJP days later, made headlines in 2021 for his strong observations and directives on the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into alleged irregularities in teacher recruitment in West Bengal School Services committee.

The 61-year-old has come under criticism after switching from the judiciary to politics, with the Trinamool Congress alleging political motives behind his ruling in the alleged teacher recruitment scam.

At a Trinamool march shortly after joining the BJP, Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee described Mr Gangopadhyay as a “BJP babu on the bench” and said she would ensure his defeat if he contested the election. The stage was set as the BJP announced him as its candidate in the fifth list released last night.

Ms Banerjee also said the former judge had emerged as a leader “after depriving thousands of students of employment opportunities”. “Be prepared, wherever you contest, I will send students to fight you.” Rumors about Mr Gangopadia’s campaign from Tamluk have been circulating for the past few weeks. Anticipating this, the Trinamool fielded 27-year-old Bhattacharya against the former judge.

Mr. Bhattacharya has been actively involved in student politics as a member of the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad and has been in charge of the party’s social media affairs since 2022.

He is also credited with composing the Khela Hobe campaign song in the run-up to the 2021 Bengal elections. The Trinamool composed campaign songs that highlighted the local style of politics and the welfare schemes of the Bengal government. With its catchy music, the campaign song became an instant hit, so much so that several other political parties adapted and used it in their campaigns.

Tamluk constituency, once a Left bastion, has been under the Trinamool Congress since 2009. But there’s a twist. The seat was won by Suvendu Adhikari in 2009 and 2014, who is now one of the top national leaders of the BJP. Mr Adhikari, who was with the Trinamool then, vacated the seat after he was elected as the MLA in the 2016 state polls. In the subsequent by-election, his brother Dibyendu Adhikari was elected as an MP. In the 2019 polls, the Trinamool again fielded Dibyendu Adhikari and, as expected, considering the family’s influence in the region, he won. However, the next year, Suvendu Adhikari switched to the BJP. His brother Divyendu retained his seat and switched to the BJP a week ago.

This means that although this seat has been held by the Trinamool for 15 years, it is actually Suvendu Adhikari’s turf. And the Trinamool will have to move mountains this time to retain it.