West Bengal Elections 2021: With Mukul Roy in fray, here are 5 crucial contests in Phase 6

As the high-octane poll battle for the West Bengal polls heats up, the polling for the 6th phase will take place on Thursday between 7 am and 6 pm. There are 306 candidates in the fray for the 43 constituencies going to the polls. They are spread across 4 districts- North 24 Parganas, Nadia, Uttar Dinajpur and Purba Bardhaman. BJP is looking to make substantial inroads in this phase as the Matua community is a key factor in nearly 26 seats. 

The seats in the poll fray are Chopra, Islampur, Goalpokhar, Chakulia, Karandighi, Hemtabad, Kaliaganj, Raiganj, Itahar, Karimpur, Tehatta, Palashipara, Kaliganj, Nakashipara, Chapra, Krishnanagar Uttar, Nabadwip, Krishnanagar Dakshin, Bagda, Bangaon Uttar, Bangaon Dakshin, Gaighata, Swarupnagar, Baduria, Habra, Ashoknagar, Amdanga, Bijpur, Naihati, Bhatpara, Jagatdal, Noapara, Barrackpur, Khardaha, Dum Dum Uttar, Bhatar, Purbasthali Dakshin, Purbasthali Uttar, Katwa, Ketugram, Mangalkot, Ausgram and Galsi.  The voter turnout for the seats that went to the polls in the first, second, third, fourth and fifth phases was 84.63 per cent, 86.11 per cent, 84.61 per cent, 79.90 per cent and 82.49 per cent respectively. The election results will be declared on May 2. 

Here are the key contests: 

1. Krishnanagar Uttar: Mukul Roy (BJP) vs Koushani Mukherjee (TMC)

Falling under the Krishnanagar Lok Sabha constituency, this seat has been vacant since June 2020 when TMC MLA Abani Mohan Joardar passed away. BJP has fielded former close aide of WB CM Mamata Banerjee and its current national vice president Mukul Roy in Krishnanagar Uttar. Incidentally, the former Railways Minister has not won a single direct election to either the Parliament or Assembly yet. He is pitted against Bengali actress Koushani Mukherjee of TMC. In the previous election, Joardar defeated his closest rival Asim Kumar Saha of CPI(M) by a margin of over 12,000 votes. 

2. Habra: Jyotipriya Mallick (TMC) vs Rahul Sinha (BJP)

A part of the North 24 Parganas district, Habra falls under the Basirhat Lok Sabha constituency. Jyotipriya Mallick, Minister of Food and Supplies in the West Bengal Cabinet, is looking forward to continuing his winning streak here which started in 2001. In the 2016 election, he trounced CPI(M)'s Ashis Kantha Mukherjee by more than 45,000 votes. This time, BJP has reposed faith in its former WB president Rahul Sinha while CPI(M)'s candidate is Rijinandan Biswas. 

3. Dum Dum Uttar: Chandrima Bhattacharya (TMC) vs Tanmoy Bhattacharya [CPI(M)] vs Archana Majumdar (BJP)

The incumbent MLA Tanmoy Bhattacharya of CPI(M) faces an uphill task to retain his seat on this occasion. This is because WB Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya has again been fielded by TMC in Dum Dum Uttar. Though she lost to Tanmoy Bhattacharya in the 2016 Assembly polls, the TMC leader entered the Assembly by winning the Kanthi Dakshin by-election in 2017. At present, she is serving as the MoS Housing (Independent Charge), Health and Family Welfare, Land and Land Reforms & Refugee Relief and Rehabilitation, Panchayats and Rural Development. BJP's Archana Majumdar is also in contention.

4. Barrackpur: Raj Chakraborty (TMC) vs Chandramani Shukla (BJP)

Lying in the North 24 Parganas district, this constituency came into existence in 2011. While TMC comfortably won Barrackpur in 2011 as well as 2016, its MLA Shilbhadra Dutta joined BJP in December 2020 in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. However, BJP has nominated Chandramani Shukla instead of Dutta. Meanwhile, the ruling party in the state has fielded film director Raj Chakraborty. The other key contender is Debasish Bhowmick of CPI(M).

5. Purbasthali Dakshin: Swapan Debnath (TMC) vs Abhijit Bhattacharyya (Congress)

Senior TMC leader Swapan Debnath is vying for re-election from this seat which falls in the Jalpaiguri district. At present, he is the Minister in the West Bengal government. In the last polls, he won 1,04,398 votes, as against 66,732 votes won by his main rival Abhijit Bhattacharyya belonging to the Congress party. Rajib Kumar Bhowmick is the BJP candidate from this seat.