Jailed Trinamool Cong MLA Madan Mitra to contest assembly polls this time too

KOLKATA: Saradha-tainted Trinamool Congress MLA Madan Mitra will contest this year's assembly elections from the same Kamarhati seat which he won in 2011.

Trinamool Congress MP Sougata Roy while addressing a party workers meeting at Kamarhati, on Saturday announced this and urged the party workers to ensure Mitra's victory from the same constituency.

Trinamool Congress North 24-Parganas district president and West Bengal food and civil supplies minister Jyotipriya Maullik also endorsed Roy's announcement and asked party workers to prepare for campaign. Roy made this announcement at a time when party supremo and chief minister Mamata Banerjee is yet to finalise list of her candidates for April's assembly polls in the state.

Mitra was arrested by the CBI on December 13, 2014 in connection with their probe into the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam. Since then he is languishing in jail. He was granted bail by a lower court in Kolkata, but the order given by the lower court was challenged by the CBI and Mitra was put behind the bars again.

Mamata had removed Mitra from the post of transport and sports minister a few months back after the lower court's order was challenged by the CBI. But Mitra was not asked by the chief minister or her party to quit the state legislature as Kamarhati MLA. Now, senior party MP Sougata Roy has announced Mitra's candidature and said that he will contest the same constituency which he won in 2011.

It appears that Mamata has also endorsed Mitra's candidature and Roy has announced the decision after getting endorsement from Mamata herself. A few days back, Mitra when asked by reporters whether he will contest the assembly polls this time, replied that "I am a sincere worker of the party and will follow the party instruction."

Many in Trinamool Congress say that by fielding Mitra in Kamarhati the chief minister actually wants to challenge the central probe agency as well as the BJP which she feels, are hatching a conspiracy against her party by using Saradha scam as a tool.