New Delhi:

Trinamool leader Mahua Moitra must overcome the challenge of Bharatiya Janata Party debutant Amrita Roy, the matriarch of a local royal family, if she is to win back the Krishnanagar Lok Sabha seat from which she was so controversially expelled last year. 

Rajmata (or Queen Mother) Amrita Roy was named Sunday in the BJP’s fifth list, which included quite a few surprises; actors Kangana Ranaut and Arun Govil will contest Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi and Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut, while Varun Gandhi has been dropped from UP’s Pilibhit.

The identity of Ms Moitra’s opponent in next month’s election comes days after the Central Bureau of Investigation filed a police case and raided her Kolkata home in the cash-for-query case. In response, Ms Moitra taunted the BJP for having not yet named its candidate for the Krishnanagar seat. 

The CBI came home & to my election offices today. Were very polite. Searched. Found nothing. Meanwhile @sayani06 & I still searching for BJP candidates against us . pic.twitter.com/njt8VXWnuH

— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) March 23, 2024

Mahua Moitra, 49, eased to victory in Krishnanagar in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, picking up 45 per cent of the votes to finish over 60,000 ahead of the BJP’s Kalyan Chaubey.

Since then, the former investment banker has grown into one of the BJP’s fiercest critics, with impassioned speeches in Parliament, backed up by sharply worded jabs on social media, earning her run-ins with union ministers, saffron party leaders, and right-wing trolls.

Krishnanagar has been held by the Trinamool since 2009, when Tapas Paul took it off the CPIM, which ruled here unchallenged from 1971 to 1999. The Left party is unlikely to be a contender in this election, which will be a straight fight Ms Moitra and the rajmata, who is backed by the BJP looking for a big win over Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool.

The Trinamool re-nominating Mahua Moitra from Krishnanagar has been seen as an act of defiance to the BJP – a throwing down of the gauntlet after her hugely contentious expulsion on corruption charges.

READ | In Retaining Mahua Moitra As Poll Pick, Trinamool’s Defiant Message To BJP

The party took some time to come to Ms Moitra’s aid but has now rallied firmly to her side. Ms Banerjee has described her sacking “murder of democracy”.

For the Trinamool, Ms Moitra has emerged as one of the central figures in this battle against the BJP – a re-run of the pitched (in many cases) warfare that marked the 2021 state poll. 

READ | “Mahua Will Win Battle”: Mamata Condemns Trinamool MP’s Expulsion

Mamata Banerjee’s party is, on paper, a member of the INDIA opposition bloc. 

However, on the ground the Trinamool is contesting under its own steam; there is no seat-sharing deal with INDIA members, which, in Bengal, includes the CPIM and the Congress. 

Bengal has 42 Lok Sabha seats – the most after Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra – and is, therefore, a key state for a BJP that wants to win 370+ seats on its own. 

A good score in Bengal – where it picked up 18 last time – is critical.

Mahua Moitra Was Expelled. What Happened?

A little less than four months ago, Ms Moitra was expelled on charges of corruption. 

READ | Mahua Moitra Expelled From Parliament: “Her Conduct Immoral, Indecent”

She allegedly took Rs 2 crore in cash and “luxury gift items” from a businessman – Darshan Hiranandani – to ask questions critical of the government in Parliament. She was also accused of sharing log-in details to her confidential account on the parliament website.

She has denied the bribery charges (but said she did share portal credentials, arguing it is common practice among MPs). The Supreme Court will hear this case in May.

New Delhi:

The BJP on Friday intensified its attack on Mahua Moitra over allegations of she taking bribes for raising questions in Parliament, demanding that either the TMC leader should step down as MP or TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee “sack” her.

BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said the allegations against Mahua Moitra indicated a “complete compromise of the parliamentary system”.

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey sought to draw the attention of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to the developments in the matter, insisting that an “immediate action is necessary on this”.

The TMC remained silent on the issue.

Darshan Hiranandani, the CEO of real estate-to-energy group Hiranandani, who allegedly paid Mahua Moitra to raise questions in Parliament about Adani Group, on Thursday said she targeted Gautam Adani to “malign and embarrass” Prime Minister Narendra Modi whose “impeccable reputation” gave opposition no opportunity to attack him.

In a signed affidavit, a copy of which was reviewed by the PTI, Darshan Hiranandani admitted at using Mahua Moitra’s Parliamentary login to ask questions targeting Adani after state-owned behemoth Indian Oil Corporation booked capacity at the Gujarat-based conglomerate’s Dhamra LNG import facility in Odisha and not at his firm’s planned facility.

Vinod Sonkar, the chairman of Lok Sabha Ethics Committee, said he has received the sworn-in affidavit from Darshan Hiranandani.

Reacting to the developments, Shehzad Poonawalla wrote on X, “In light of the serious allegations, made on affidavit not by one but two key individuals and stakeholders in the entire Mahua Moitra affair, indicating a complete compromise of the parliamentary system.” This also indicates “a larger compromise of parliamentary ethics, quid pro quo, alleged corruption, conspiracy against larger economic national interests and also illegality with respect to sharing of parliamentary logins,” the BJP spokesperson charged.

“The said MP – Mahua Moitra should step down as MP pending enquiry, given the higher ethical & moral standards she herself sets for the world or else Mamata Didi & TMC (which has been an ostrich in this entire issue) must sack her asap (as soon as possible),” he added.

In a post on X, BJP’s Nishikant Dubey said immediate action is necessary in the matter, tagging the Lok Sabha speaker in his post.

“The way the TMC MP is trying to influence the whistleblower of corruption. Jai Anant Dehadrai… The MP’s lawyer accepted in the Delhi High Court today that this is ‘chori aur seenajori’. Immediate action is necessary on this @loksabhaspeaker,” Nishikant Dubey wrote.

Meanwhile, Mahua Moitra has raised questions over the credibility of Hiranandani’s affidavit, alleging that it was “drafted by the PMO” and he was forced to sign it after being “threatened” with “total shut down” of his family’s businesses.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) held a “proverbial gun” to DarshanHiranandani and his father’s heads and gave them 20 minutes to sign this “letter”, Mahua Moitra claimed in a statement issued on Thursday night.

Targeting the Modi government on the issue, Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury asked why the BJP-led Centre goes into panic mode when an issue or a question is raised against a “particular industrialist”. He demanded a discussion and probe into “this also”.

“It is necessary to have a discussion on this also. There should be an inquiry into this also,” he told reporters.

The Congress MP said members of Parliament are representatives of people and being so, they “try to raise” questions in Parliament, no matter from where they get those questions.

“If the government has the answer, it can say yes, and if not it can say no,” he said.

“But I have never seen the constitution of an Ethics Committee so swiftly…and all the probes and investigations begin. It may be possible that the government has some different kind of interest on this issue,” he said.

“Action had been taken against Rahul Gandhi after he raised questions on wealth accumulation of a particular industrialist,” he charged.

In his reaction, JD(U) leader KC Tyagi said the matter is with the Lok Sabha’s Ethics Committee which will take an appropriate decision.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)