Bengal Election 2021: CPI(M) Puts Faith In Aishe Ghosh, Other Young Candidates

Young CPM candidates take the fore: The Left Front in the upcoming West Bengal assembly election has put significant faith in youth leaders like Aishe Ghosh and Minakshi Mukherjee, who have been given party tickets to contest major constituencies.

In 2011, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) had, with a landslide victory, had defeated the 34-year-old Left rule in Bengal. The polls this year have high stakes, with youth leaders facing up to veterans in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and TMC.

Communist Party of India (Marxist), allianced with the Congress and Indian Secular Front (ISF), announced its candidates for six phases of polls. Left chairman Biman Bose, at a conference on Wednesday, said the CPI(M) this time is fielding several persons under the age of 40, even as young as 26 years.

Notable Female Young CPM Candidates Contesting Bengal Polls 2021

1. Aishe Ghosh 

Aishe Ghosh, student leader at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), will now be contesting assembly polls for the first time in West Bengal from the Jamuria constituency in Paschim Bardhaman district. She hails from the Durgapur town of the district. Ghosh will be the first sitting JNUSU president to contest polls.

A member of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), she will contest the polls on a CPI(M) ticket. At 26, she is among the youngest the Left is fielding. Ghosh was the face of JNU protests against the university's fee hike between 2019 and 2020, her bloody forehead becoming the face of resistance in the aftermath of the January 5 campus violence.

2. Minakshi Mukherjee 

Mukherjee, in among the toughest battles this election, will lock horns with TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and BJP's Suvendhu Adhikari for the seat in Nandigram. State president of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), Mukherjee will contest on a CPI(M) ticket. DYFI is a youth wing of the communist party in Bengal.

In the run-up to the election, she has promised focus on employment in the state, able governance and democratic ideals.

3. Dipsita Dhar

Dhar, another name from JNU alongside Ghosh, will contest the election on a CPI(M) ticket from Bally, a town in Howrah she hails from. She is the All India Joint Secretary for Students' Federation of India (SFI) and is currently a PhD scholar.

Dhar is a recognisable face at youth rallies. She is a vocal advocate of equal gender rights and women's safety, having previously called out the inaction over rapes and women's safety in Uttar Pradesh. On social media, she has also shown support for the farmers' protest.

Announcing her candidature, she wrote on Twitter earlier today:

A new responsibility that I have assigned to. Will be contesting for the Bally Legislative Assembly Seat as candidate of CPIM supported by the Sanyukt Morcha. 😊

Looking forward for your support and suggestions. #BengalElection2021 pic.twitter.com/HVFaKnDTCf

— Dipsita (@DharDipsita) March 11, 2021

4. Pritha Ta

The daughter of Pradip Ta, CPM MLA brutally murdered in 2012 during a party rally, Pritha Ta is among the young CPM candidates contesting polls this year. She is facing off for the Bardhaman South assembly seat.

The Bengal assembly election will be conducted in eight phases from March 27 till April 29. Poll results to be declared on May 2. See the candidate lists for BJP and TMC.