Bengal Polls: BJP Gives Ticket to Somen Mitra’s Wife, She Denies

Shikha Mitra in her video said that her permission was not taken and that she won’t fight for the BJP. 

(Photo: Kamran Akhter / The Quint)

In an embarrassing moment for the Bharatiya Janata Party, ex-West Bengal Congress President late Somen Mitra's wife Shikha Chowdhury (Mitra) was given a ticket by the BJP to contest from the Chowringhee seat.

However, she immediately released a video denying the candidature, saying that her permission was not taken.

In the video posted by her son and West Bengal General Secretary of Congress, Rohan Mitra, she said that she "will not be standing for the BJP" and the news of her candidature is "wrong".

Talking to The Quint, her son said that she was sleeping when the news broke, and as soon as she got to know about it, she denied it.

“My mother is not standing anywhere. Definitely not for the BJP. No one has asked for our permission.”

Rohan Mitra, Shikha Mitra’s son and WB General Secretary, Congress

Mitra who is still officially part of the Trinamool Congress has been out of political activity, since she resigned from her post as an MLA in 2014. But speculations were rife about her joining the BJP after turncoat MLA Suvendu Adhikari had visited her recently.

Rohan told The Quint that Adhikari had requested her to join the BJP and fight on their ticket. While she said that she would think about it, she had denied the offer the next day.

However, the Mitra family says that they still maintain a very cordial relation with Adhikari.

Rohan also added that she was offered to fight on a BJP ticket in 2014 too, which she had denied. 

“We are trying to hold on to his (Somen Mitra’s) legacy. We are happy where we are.”

Rohan Mitra, Shikha Mitra’s son and WB General Secretary, Congress

He says that his mother wants to stay out of active politics but wants to continue helping people through the Somen Mitra Foundation.

Tarun Saha Issues Denial

Meanwhile, the BJP has also named Tarun Saha as its candidate from the Kashipur-Belgachia seat. However, like Mitra, Saha has also denied that he is contesting from the constituency. According to The Telegraph, Saha told journalists that he is with the TMC and that the BJP named him on its list without even consulting him.

Saha’s wife, Mala, is the outgoing TMC MLA from the Kashipur-Belgachia seat, having won it back-to-back for the TMC in both the 2011 and 2016 state Assembly elections. However, this year, the TMC has fielded Calcutta deputy mayor Atin Ghosh from the constituency.

(With inputs from The Telegraph.)