ROYAL BENGAL BATTLE

Krishnanagar has emerged as one of the key constituencies because of the candidates in the fray and the electoral factors at play

- NILADRY SARKAR

In the Battle of Plassey in 1757, the East India Company under Robert Clive defeated Bengal’s last independent ruler Sirajud-Daulah, marking the onset of British rule in India.

The sprawling battleground of Plassey no longer exists. Only a sole monument in Krishnanagar serves as a poignant reminder of a turning point in Indian history. But Plassey, along with the rest of Krishnanagar in West Bengal’s Nadia district, is in the middle of another intriguing fight. Krishnanagar has emerged as one of the key Lok Sabha constituencies because of the candidates in the fray and the electoral factors at play. The Trinamool Congress has once again chosen Mahua Moitra, a fiery critic of the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She was expelled from Parliament after her alleged involvement in a cash-for-query controversy. The BJP has fielded Amrita Roy, whose husband, Soumish Chandra Roy, is a descendant of the erstwhile king Krishnachandra Roy. Krishnanagar is named after the king.

Moitra’s expulsion from the Lok Sabha and the subsequent CBI action against her are viewed by the Trinamool as yet another instance of the alleged misuse of Central agencies by the Modi government. Moitra wants to return to Parliament with a bigger mandate to give the BJP a “fitting reply”. “Last time, I won with a margin of over 60,000 votes. This time, I want a lead of over one lakh votes,” she told a small crowd in Krishnanagar.