Indian Secular Front (ISF) MLA Nawshad Siddique has said that he may contest the upcoming Lok Sabha election from Diamond Harbour constituency. Diamond Harbour, a Lok Sabha constituency in the South 24 Parganas is represented by Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and the remarks by the lone ISF MLA have triggered speculation in the political circles.
In the 2021 Assembly election in West Bengal, the Left Front and the Congress formed an alliance with ISF. While the Left Front and Congress drew a blank, ISF Nawshad Siddique won from Bhangar Assembly seat.
While commenting on Mr. Siddique’s remarks, State Congress President Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that if Nawshad Siddique contests from Diamond Harbour then the Trinamool general secretary will face a tough contest. Diamond Harbour is a minority dominated constituency and in 2019 Mr. Banerjee had won the seat by a margin of 3.20 lakh votes. Diamond Harbour constituency has emerged as a stronghold of the Trinamool Congress and Opposition parties have failed to pose any challenge to the State’s ruling party in the region.
The Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari at a public meeting recently had said that he will defeat Mr. Banerjee “by fielding someone else”. Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh has dared the ISF leader to contest from the seat.
“Abhishek Banerjee won in 2014 and 2019 and he will win again from Diamond Harbour in 2024. Nawshad Siddique is working as an agent of the BJP,” he said.
Mr. Siddique said in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls his party ISF will field candidates both in north Bengal and south Bengal who will give a tough fight. ISF was set up before 2021 Assembly polls in West Bengal by Peerzada (religious leader) Abbas Siddique from Furfura Sharif, a prominent religious shrine in State’s Hooghly district and Naushad Siddique is his younger brother.
