Personal Rivalry Turns Professional: BJP Fields Kabir Shankar Bose Against TMC's Kalyan Banerjee

2024 Lok Sabha Elections: The battle in Serampore, a former Danish colony next to river Hooghly, is already heating up after BJP fielded sitting TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee's former son-in-law Kabir Shankar Bose against him. In a bid to uproot Kalyan from his stronghold, BJP's googly has taken everyone by surprise. With the Indian Premier League in full-swing, both sides tested the waters referring to cricket analogies. After scoring a hat-trick from Serampore, hardly 20 kilometers from Kolkata, Kalyan Banerjee said that he is going to hit a boundary this time around, hours after Kabir Shankar Bose's name was announced. In response, Bose wrote, "You will be bowled," adding, "After June 4, he will have to pack his bags."

Earlier this year, Kalyan Banerjee's mimicry of Rajya Sabha's chairman Jagdeep Dhankar outside the Parliament protesting against the disqualification of MPs started a political storm. Kalyan Banerjee's daughter and Kabir got divorced in 2017. Kabir is an advocate in Supreme Court. Even after Kabir's relationship with Kalyan's family has ended, a lot has happened from since then. Now, the personal rivalry has transcended into the political battlefield. However, Kalyan, reacting to the development, has said that they are both lawyers by profession, stating that he is opposed to BJP's ideology.

In 2015, Kabir had slapped a Rs 5 crore defamation suit against Kalyan. A lot of time has passed since then. How the personal rivalry will play out in the political battlefield, only time will tell.