Explained: Why has TMC decided to field Shatrughan Sinha and Babul Supriyo in upcoming bypolls?

After inducting national leaders like Yashwant Sinha, Sushmita Dev and Luizinho Faleiro, actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha is the TMC's latest catch as part of its national expansion plan.

Shatrughan Sinha (L) and Babul Supriyo (File)

Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee Sunday announced Shatrughan Sinha as her party’s candidate for the Asansol Lok Sabha bypoll and former Union minister Babul Supriyo as the nominee for the Ballygunge Assembly bye-election. While Supriyo quit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and joined the TMC in September last year, Sinha is yet to join the Mamata Banerjee-led party.

Bye-elections to both the seats will be held on April 12. The Asansol seat fell vacant after Supriyo resigned as the BJP Member of Parliament from the seat from where he had won the election in 2014 and the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. He has been made the TMC candidate from the Ballygunge Assembly constituency in Kolkata, which fell vacant after the demise of former state minister and veteran party leader Subrata Mukherjee in November last year.

TMC’s quest for national-level leaders in full swing

After inducting national leaders like Yashwant Sinha, Sushmita Dev and Luizinho Faleiro, actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha is the TMC’s latest catch as part of its national expansion plan. By bringing in prominent and senior leaders with a national-level presence, the TMC is trying to project itself as a truly national party having a sound arsenal to go after the BJP. The party intends to gain from their experience to put up a strong opposition in both houses of the Parliament.

Drawing strength from other parties

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Just like the above-mentioned leaders, Sinha is also a former BJP leader who quit the saffron camp to join the Congress. He unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Patna Sahib in Bihar on a Congress ticket. At the same time, Babul Supriyo too is a former Union minister and two-time BJP MP from Asansol. By making them party candidates, Mamata Banerjee is drawing strength from the BJP and Congress and building her own party. She is also sending a message to fence-sitters that if they follow suit then they will be met with similar rewards.

Star power

Since coming to power in 2011, Mamata Banerjee has always given election tickets to members of the film and television industry. From Bengali actors, Tapas Paul, Shatabdi Roy and Debashree Roy, and Bollywood superstar Mithun Chakraborty to relatively young Bengali superstar Dev, Mimi Chakraborty, Nusrat Jahan, the TMC supremo has always banked on star power to win elections to crucial seats. This time as well she is banking on the star power of Shatrughan Sinha to win the Lok Sabha bypoll.

To tap Hindi-speaking voters

The Asansol Lok Sabha constituency consists of a mixed population of coal mine workers, factory workers, scrap dealers and minority population. About 50 per cent of the electorate are Hindi-speaking and therefore a candidate like Sinha, who is a popular face, is a well-chosen persona to connect with them. Similarly, the Ballygunge Assembly constituency too has a sizeable non-Bengali population. Babul Supriyo with his image of a playback singer is likely to draw their support.

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