Vol. 67 No. 139 | MONDAY | MARCH 11, 2024 | 23 Pages | `5 & for Pune `6 only Quality at Value www.freepressjournal.in MEMBER: AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATION EDITIONS: MUMBAI*, Pune, Nashik, Konkan, Indore, Bhopal, E-paper Didi leans on jaded stars Cricketer Yusuf Pathan, Shatrughan Sinha, Kirti Azad will pad up for the Lok Sabha elections ARITRA SINGHA / KOLKATA The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Sunday put an end to speculation over seat-sharing in Bengal for the Lok Sabha elections by releasing a list of candidates for all the 42 seats in the state. The party undertook a major overhaul by dropping seven sitting MPs and introducing numerous new faces. While 16 of 23 sitting MPs were retained, the TMC opted not to renominate seven incumbents, notably excluding Arjun Singh from Barrackpore, who left the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) two years ago to join the TMC. Nine sitting MLAs, including two ministers from the West Bengal cabinet Partha Bhowmick and Biplab Mitra, have been thrust into the Lok Sabha battle. “Those who have not been renominated will be accommodated during the Assembly polls,” TMC leader Mamata Banerjee said at a massive rally at Brigade Parade Grounds in Kolkata. One of the new faces in the TMC list is former Test cricketer Yusuf Pathan, who has been nominated from the Baharampur constituency , which is currently held by Congress state president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury The . TMC has also nominated former Test cricketer Kirti Azad from the Bardhhaman-Durgapur constituency . CONTD. ON NATION FPJ NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA Pathan vs Adhir a jolt for INDIA? ROBIN ROY / KOLKATA TMC’s decision to field pinch-hitter Yusuf Pathan against a veteran and loyal Congress old-timer, Adhir Chowdhury, could deal a blow to the INDIA bloc. Even though the Congress has not announced Adhir’s name so far, the five-time MP is certain to get a ticket from Baharampur. Adhir has been Congress’s torchbearer in West Bengal even as the party is close to becoming a “cipher” in the state. Adhir’s popularity can be gauged from the fact that he Outsiders vs insiders retained the Baharampur seat by an impressive margin of 80,000 votes in 2019 despite the party fighting hard to stay politically relevant in Bengal in the face of a saffron surge. That Adhir has not lost a Lok Sabha election from Baharampur since 1999 reveals his excellent PR and bonding with his vote bank and the minority-dominated, backward district. Adhir has since then bettered his winning margin with every election and is undoubtedly Murshidabad’s most influential politician. CONTD. ON NATION The aam voter may be wondering what suddenly happened to the Bengali pride and if there’s a dearth of Bengali candidates especially after seeing the TMC’s list. Bengal’s local party has fielded three “outsider” candidates for Lok Sabha. BJP , initially had surprised all by , announcing the name of Pawan Singh for Asansol this year, however, his withdrawal had closed that chapter albeit temporarily . But on Sunday TMC re, peated Bihari babu Shatrughan Sinha. The party , which is always so vocal against the “bohiragoto” (outsiders), also fielded Kirti Azad and Yusuf Pathan too. Asansol, which borders Bihar, has been witnessing the bashing of “Shuddh” Bengali candidates even as Babul Supriyo did exceptionally well in 2014 and 2019. But Babul’s case is different. As a playback singer, Babul did well in the regional circuit in Orissa, Bihar and Bollywood. Analysts believe his pan-Indian image gave him an edge among the non-Bengali voters (expanding rapidly) in CONTD. ON NATION Asansol. Did rifts trigger GOEL EXIT? AGENCIES / NEW DELHI A day after the resignation of Election Commissioner Arun Goel, opposition political parties sharpened the attack on the Government over the development, and wondered if rifts within the poll body or pressure led to the development. Congress General Secretary in-charge Communications Jairam Ramesh posed the question precisely: “The Election Commission should be a fair body, it is a constitutional institution. Arun Goel resigned yesterday I could think of four . possible reasons for this. First, there could have been some differences between the Chief Election Commissioner and him. Secondly, could the Modi government, which drives the panel, have fallen out with him? Third, he could have resigned for personal reasons and lastly , he could be contesting the elections on a BJP ticket. There will be more clarity in the next few days.” He pointed out, “The Election Commission has for eight months now refused to meet with INDIA parties on the issue of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPATs) that are so very essential to prevent Electronic Voting Opposition moves needle of suspicion to pressure, differences within and evidence of attempt to manipulate the elections. Manipulation (EVM).” In Lucknow, the Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday asked whether the Election Commission is working under pressure. “Just before the elections, whose pressure there is on the Election Commission which is a constitutional body,” Yadav told reporters here when asked about Goel's resignation. Goel, who resigned on Saturday, has not given any reason for his decision. His tenure was till December 5, 2027. CONTD. ON NATION New ECs before March 15 OUR BUREAU / NEW DELHI I n a belated acknowledgement of the vacuum in the Election Commission — where matters precipitated on Sunday after the inexplicable exit of Arun Goel — the government has decided to fill up the two critical vacancies by March 15. Currently , Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar is the sole member of the poll authority . The first vacancy was created by the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey who had demitted office on February 14 on attaining the age of 65 years. A search committee under Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and comprising the Home Secretary and the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) Secretary will first prepare two separate panels of five names each for the two posts. Later, a selection committee headed by the prime minister and comprising a Union minister and Leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury will name two persons for appointment as election commissioners. CONTD. ON NATION