Trinamool's Maheshtala nominee focuses on development plank for polls

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress candidate Dulal Chandra Das is banking on the all round development carried out by the Mamata Banerjee-led state government in the past 10 years, exuding confidence to win the Maheshtala Assembly seat in South 24-Parganas.

Maheshtala is one of the 11 Assembly constituencies in South 24-Parganas district that goes to polls on April 10 during the fourth phase of elections. Das have been pitted against CPI (M)'s Pravash Chowdhury and BJP's Umesh Das

"I am campaigning with development being the only poll plank. Maheshtala has seen reasonable development in roads and lighting and also in water supply. After being elected, I will resolve issues related to sewerage and drainage," Das said.

Das had won the Maheshtala by-election seat in May 2018 which had fallen vacant after the death of his wife Kasturi Das in February 2018. Kasturi Das had been two-time MLA, winning the seat in 2011 and 2016

Even during Lok Sabha elections in 2019 when BJP had won 18 seats against TMC's 22, TMC had won by a margin of over 3.18 lakh votes from Diamond Harbour seat under which Maheshtala is one of the Assembly Constituency. TMC's Abhishek Banerjee had a convincing lead from all the seven Assembly seats.

Maheshtala AC has 35 wards of Maheshtala municipality. However, the wards from 1 to 7, 9 and 10 have gone out of the municipality area because of delimitation.

As many as 26 wards— starting from the border of Metiabruz –Garden Reach to Shyampur— have a sharp divide not only population wise but also in terms of social status and economic sustainability.

The areas from Shyampur to Batanagar are Hindu-dominated with people belonging to service and business class. The remaining 45 per cent

Muslim population, mainly doting on both side of the Railway track Brace-Bridge to Akra, Memanpur and Dakghar, is mainly dependent on the garment industry.