In a development that could give the Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress a huge sigh of relief the BJP on Tuesday decided not to contest the Howrah parliamentary by-election.
BJP State president Rahul Sinha said the party was currently interested in concentrating on the panchayat elections which was barely a month away.
“The BJP will concentrate on the panchayat elections so we have decided to employ our full strength there and not Howrah,” BJP State president Rahul Sinha said, adding he had taken the decision “in consultation with the national leadership.”
The party had last week declared the name of former State president professor Asim Kumar Ghosh as its candidate for the June 2 bypolls which was necessitated after the death of sitting Trinamool MP Ambika Banerjee.
Currently Congress, Trinamool and left Front are in the fray, experts feel. The Trinamool had won the seat in 2009 in by a margin of about 35,000 votes. BJP’s presence in the scene had kept the ruling party in a tensed state, insiders said, adding its withdrawal had come as a blessing in disguise.
On whether the BJP decision smacked of any hidden understanding with the Trinamool Congress, Sinha said the BJP’s good performance in the panchayat elections would place it in a better position in the 2014 elections.