New Delhi: Mohammad Salim, CPM's politburo member who fought from Raiganj is practically the left's last hope in TMC's Bengal that has witnessed a saffron surge in the recent years. About 400 km from Kolkata, Salim fought a lone battle in Raiganj in an election where CPI(M) was hardly talked about.
Salim won the seat in 2014 with a margin of 1,634 votes, defeating Congress's candidate Deepa Dasmunshi. The Left parties won only two (Raiganj and Murshidabad) of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the State in 2014.
Though Salim didn't accept it on record, the CPI(M) is pinning hope on him because the area has 49.92% Muslim population, according to a 2011 census. The CPI(M) expects that Mohammad Salim will get a major pie of that vote share.
Meanwhile, BJP candidate Deboshree Chaudhury fought the election in the name of "Modiji" and hopes on May 23 it may bring a surprise for her if the 49.31% Hindu population vote for her en-block.