Ex-HC Judge And BJP's Abhijeet Gangopadhyay Races Ahead Of 'Khela Hobe' Singer Debangshu In Tamluk

Tamluk Lok Sabha Constituency Results 2024 LIVE UPDATES: Former Calcutta High Court judge and BJP candidate Abhijit Gangopadhyay is ahead by more than 10,000 votes against TMC's Debangshu Bhattacharya who shot to fame after singing 'Khela Hobe' song during Mamata Banerjee's successful campaign for the 2021 Bengal Vidhan Sabha polls from East Midnapore's Tamluk.

Tamluk, the bastion of the Adhikaris, is witnessing a heated battle between two first-timers from BJP and Trinamool Congress. On one hand, there is the former Kolkata High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay who had ordered CBI probe into the teachers' recruitment case that saw several TMC heavyweights, including Partha Chatterjee, former state Education Minister and a close aide of Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, behind bars. On the other hand, the TMC has fielded the 27-year-old Debangshu.

Retaining Tamluk was always an uphill task for the Trinamool Congress as all the players who were responsible for the wins since 2009 have deserted the party. In 2020, Medinipur's strongman Suvendu Adhikari joined BJP while his brother Dibyendu who is the sitting MP joined BJP along with another heavyweight from Barrackpore Arjun Singh recently. Abhijit, who had frequent run-ins with senior Trinamool leaders like Mamata and her nephew Abhishek over the Bengal teachers' recruitment scam case, joined BJP earlier this month after resigning from the post.

A student leader and a state spokesperson, Debangshu enjoys a strong social media presence. His 'Khela Hobe' song turned into Mamata's war cry against BJP in the 2021 Legislative Assembly elections. However, if a strong virtual presence is enough to make inroads in a constituency where the Adhikaris have held sway for long is something to watch out for in the remaining rounds of counting. For now, Debangshu can only hope for a miracle.