Locket Chatterjee, 'Didi number 1' Rachana Banerjee to fight it out in Hooghly LS Polls

Hooghly (West Bengal) [India], May 18 (ANI): West Bengal's Hooghly is set to witness a clash between two popular stars of the Bengali film industry in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections on Monday as Bharatiya Janata Party's Locket Chatterjee will be locking horns with Trinamool's Rachana Banerjee.
The Trinamool which has not shied away from using star power in its election campaigns, introduced Rachana Banerjee as its party member as the "other Didi" at a Brigade rally in March. The actor is popularly known for hosting the popular Bengali television reality show, "Didi No. 1".
Rachna Banerjee will be adding to TMC's glam quotient which is known to use star power in poll battles. While the TMC fielded actors Mimi Chakraborty and Nusrat Jahan in the 2019 polls, Deepak Adhikari, popularly known as Dev has been repeated from Ghatal Lok Sabha constituency, Shatrughan Sinha contested from Asansol and cricketer-turned-politician Yusuf Pathan is fighting it out against Congress' Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from Berhampore.
The TMC has gone all-in to win back Hooghly for its symbolic significance. Mamata Banerjee's Singur movement led to the Tata moving the Nano plant from the state to Gujarat. This was one of the main reasons for the defeat of the 34-year-long Left rule in West Bengal paving the way for the TMC supremo to be the state's first woman Chief Minister, all started out in Hooghly.
The ruling TMC is trying to bank on BJP's lack of organizational strength in the region. The fact that all seven legislators in the assembly constituencies in Hooghly are from the TMC also gives the ruling party an edge over the BJP.
The two actors facing each other in the poll battle have refrained from attacking one another, owing to the cordial relations they share in their personal lives. Both of them have also shared screen space with one another in several Bengali movies.
Speaking to ANI, Locket Chatterjee who is quite vocal in her criticism against the Mamata Banerjee government, said that BJP's fight is not against TMC's candidate Rachana Banerjee but against "corruption".
"This fight is not against the candidate; it is against corruption. This is not a fight against Didi Number One; this is against corruption Number One. Mafia raj... Sandeshkhali incident and employment are the big issues," she said.
Locket Chatterjee also said that if voted to power, the BJP government will set up industries here.
"PM Modi has said that we must bring industries for the employment of youth. We will set up industries here," she said.

Earlier in April, Locket Chatterjee accused ruling TMC supporters of attacking her vehicle. The incident took place while she was attending a Kali puja at Bansberia in the Hooghly district. A video she shared on her X handle showed locals purportedly gathering around her vehicle and banging on its roof.
Addressing a public meeting in Hooghly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the TMC is destroying society, law and order, and unity in India.
"Amid BJP's efforts of development, TMC is busy in its 'own work'. What is the work of TMC and its leaders? 'Yaha mafia raj chal rha hai. Modi kahta hai har ghar jal, TMC kahti hai, har ghar bomb'. Just a few days ago, a bomb exploded, snatching away children's lives. Life has become difficult for mothers, sisters, and daughters here. Today, the BJP is emphasising 'Make in India', but TMC is raising the slogan 'Break in India'. TMC is dividing society; TMC is breaking the law; TMC is breaking unity," PM Modi said.
Two children were critically injured in a mysterious blast in Tinna Netaji Colony in the Pandua area of the Hooghly district in the first week of May.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Locket Chatterjee defeated TMC's sitting MP Ratna De by a margin of 73,362 votes making its first inroad into Hooghly. In the 2014 polls, Ratna De defeated CPM's Pradip Saha by a margin of 1,89,084 votes. The BJP came a distant third winning only 16.4 per cent of the votes polled.
The CPM which is contesting the polls in partnership with the Congress as part of the INDIA bloc has fielded Manadip Ghosh from Hooghly.
West Bengal, which sends 42 MPs to Parliament, is voting in all seven phases. The counting of votes has been scheduled for June 4.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the TMC won 34 seats in the state, while the BJP had to settle for 2 seats. The CPI (M) won 2 seats, while the Congress bagged 4.
However, the BJP came up with a much-improved showing in the 2019 polls, winning 18 seats against the TMC's 22. The Congress's tally dropped to just 2 seats, while the Left scored a blank.
The 2024 Lok Sabha elections are being held in seven phases, running from April 19 to June 1. (ANI)