The legend goes that Ghani Khan, five-time MLA, eight-time MP and a state and central minister, by no means needed to step out of his Merc as individuals went as much as him to say that they might vote for him.Even after his loss of life in 2006, there has not been a single election in Malda when votes haven’t been sought in his identify.
However for the primary time since 1980, a Congress candidate outdoors the Ghani Khan household — Mostaque Alam — is contesting the Malda North Lok Sabha seat this time. This comes within the backdrop of Congress not successful even one of many 12 meeting seats in Malda within the 2021 Bengal meeting polls (TMC gained eight seats and BJP bagged 4).
Even after Ghani Khan’s loss of life, his brother Abu Hasem Khan Chowdhury (Dalu) gained the undivided Malda Lok Sabha seat in 2006. After 2009, when the seat was cut up into Malda South and Malda North, Dalu gained from Malda South thrice (2009, 2014, and 2019). Mausam Noor, Ghani Khan’s niece, gained Malda North in 2009 and 2014.
Although Dalu held on to his floor, his 2014 successful margin of 1.6 lakh plummeted to eight,222 in 2019.
In 2019, when Noor defected to Trinamool Congress, BJP shocked ballot pundits by securing a win in Malda North.
The saffron surge in Barkat da’s bastion in 2019 is attributed to a number of elements. The tribals and the Rajbanshis of Malda North, who backed CPM even throughout Ghani Khan’s tenure, switched their allegiance to BJP. A vastly polarising marketing campaign and the cut up attributable to Noor contesting on a TMC ticket and Isha, Ghani Khan’s nephew and Dalu’s son, contesting on a Congress ticket, helped BJP’s Khagen Murmu snatch a win.
In 2024, Isha is contesting in Malda South (a seat his father held since 2009). Noor, now a TMC Rajya Sabha MP, has been changed by TMC with former IPS officer Prasun Banerjee as its Malda North candidate.
So, is the Ghani legacy on the wane? No, says Isha. “Within the 2021 meeting polls, it was a transparent ploy between Modi (PM Narendra Modi) and Didi (CM Mamata Banerjee) to unleash the concern of NRC to misguide Muslims. Now, they will perceive the truth and are returning to our fold. Even within the final panchayat election (in 2023), you’ve got seen the shift,” he stated.
Mostaque Alam, too, invokes Ghani Khan, “It was Ghani Khan who final took care of the erosion drawback. Since then, it has been solely about siphoning cash and the blame recreation of TMC and BJP.”
Veteran Congress chief Kalisadhan Roy stated, “Barkat da by no means indulged in communal politics. Actually, his household carries the legacy of dwelling above non secular identification. Right now, it’s turning into clear to the individuals.”
If Congress candidates nonetheless maintain on to the Ghani Khan legacy, the opposition, too, is unable to fully ignore it. Whereas campaigning, CM Mamata Banerjee stated, “We revered Barkat da. We made Mousam Noor a Rajya Sabha MP as Barkat da’s household ought to have a consultant there.”
Veteran TMC chief and Ghani Khan’s former confidante, Sabitri Mitra, sees “Barkat da’s shadow” in TMC’s Malda South candidate Shahnawaj Ali.
PM Narendra Modi, who addressed an election rally in Malda on April 26, attacked TMC and Congress however maintained silence on Ghani Khan and his household. District BJP chief Amlan Bhaduri stated, “We wish TMC and Congress to maintain preventing over the Ghani Khan legacy. We wish to construct our personal legacy with Modi. His rallies and April 26 street present in Malda have proved individuals’s love for him. He needed to cease his speech twice as ‘Modi Modi’ chants rented the air.”
