WB ASSEMBLY ELECTION

Tough contest likely at Cooch Behar Dakshin segment

The outgoing Forward Bloc MLA from (Cooch Behar West) Mr Akshoy Thakur is contesting from the Cooch Behar Dakshin Assembly segment. After delimitation the name of the segment has changed and Cooch Behar town came under it. A secretary of the state Trinamul Congress Mr Abdul Jalil Ahmed is his main rival here. Mr Thakur is also a secretariat member of the state Forward Bloc.

Since 2001, Mr Thakur is contesting in the Assembly elections. He has no belief in the so-called 'wind of change'. He said, "There exists no such wind of change and I am not worry about it. I am working for the cause of the people for a long and I believe that the common people are with us."

But, it was observed that Cooch Behar town is not in favour of the leftists for the past many years. Will not it pose a problem for Mr Thakur to retain his seat? Mr Thakur said twenty wards of the town are new to him but many other areas are as before. As a man of work it may not pose any problem to him, he hopes.

The Trinamul Congress candidate Mr Abdul Jalil Ahmed is a senior lawyer. He is hopeful about his victory because the leaders and activists of different groups of the Congress and the Trinamul Congress are working together for him. The two parties are jointly governing the civic body. Its chairman Mr Biren Kundu (Congress) and vice-chairman Ms Amina Ahmed (Trinamul Congress) are campaigning in favour of him. Incidentally, Ms Ahmed is his better-half. Ms Mamata Banerjee made the electioneering easier by addressing a recent meeting in the town, he said. As the people want a change he has every possibility to win, Mr Ahmed hopes.