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.

Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh:

Union Minister Anurag Thakur has targeted TMC MP Mahua Moitra over ‘Cash-for-Query’ saying, “Even if she does not accept her mistakes, then too, the truth cannot be hidden.”

“If the Parliamentary Committee has summoned someone, then they should go and make their point. Even if she does not accept her mistakes, then too, the truth cannot be hidden,” he said.

His statement comes after Mahua Moitra’s response to the summons by the Parliament Ethics Committee.

Ms Moitra has been summoned by Ethics Committee of Parliament on November 2.

However, the TMC MP took to her X account on Friday and said, “I look forward to deposing (before the Ethics Committee of Parliament) immediately after my pre-scheduled constituency programmes end on November 4.”

In her letter to the Ehics Committee the TMC MP asked for permission to cross question Darshan Hiranandani.

Meanwhile Union Minister Anurag Thakur said this is a matter of “national security” and added that “an inquiry and appropriate action should be taken quickly”.

“The country wants to know how the Member of Parliament was sold… This is a matter of concern. It is a matter of national security and corruption… There should be an inquiry and appropriate action should be taken quickly,” he said.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey on Saturday alleged that attempts are being made to influence the witness amid the ‘Cash-for-Query’ row and urged the Lok Sabha speaker to take action.

“According to the information, Darshan Hiranandani and Dubai Didi (MP Mahua Moitra) are in touch. An attempt is being made to influence the witness @loksabhaspeaker to take action,” Nishikant Dubey said in a post on X.

Further, comparing TMC MP Mahua Moitra with former Congress MP Raja Ram Pal amid the ‘Cash-for-Query ‘row, the BJP MP said that the former was poor while Moitra was “friends with the rich”.

“There is a similarity between Mahua ji and Raja Ram Pal ji, who asked questions about money and was expelled from Parliament during the Congress rule in 2005. Pal ji was fighting against corruption of Reliance, hence he was expelled, Mahua ji Adani. Is this why you are fighting?” the BJP MP said in a post in Hindi on X.

Sharing a link that includes a letter dated back to December 2005, which was written by Raja Ram Pal to the Prime Minister’s Office about the corrupt practices of the then Power Ministry officials, Nishikant Dubey, who initially levelled the cash-for-query allegation against the TMC MP, urged everyone to read the letter to “know the nature of Mahua” “.

“Read Raja Ram Pal ji’s letter and compare that with Mahua’s nature and signature. The BSP Member of Parliament Raja Ram Pal was regularly writing to the Prime Minister….Raja Ram Pal ji speaks Hindi, is poor. She is a thief, Mahua ji speaks English, she is friends with the rich, is she honest?” he added.
 

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