TMC assigns minister Javed Khan charge of Bhabanipur’s Ward 63 ahead of assembly polls

The All India Trinamool Congress has entrusted minister Javed Khan with the responsibility of managing Ward No. 63 in Bhabanipur, the assembly constituency represented by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The move comes as the ruling party intensifies preparations to strengthen its position in key wards ahead of the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections.

Initially, the party leadership had divided the eight wards of the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency between senior leaders. State president Subrata Bakshi was given charge of wards 63, 70, 71, 72 and 73, while Kolkata Mayor and minister Firhad Hakim was assigned responsibility for wards 74, 77 and 82. However, the party has recently decided that Javed Khan, the Trinamool MLA from Kasba, will oversee all election-related work in Ward 63. The decision is significant because the ward has shown relatively strong support for the BJP in previous Lok Sabha elections. In the 2014 parliamentary polls, BJP candidate Tathagata Roy had defeated Subrata Bakshi in the Bhabanipur Assembly segment by a narrow margin of 176 votes. In the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections as well, the BJP secured leads in several wards within the constituency, including Ward 63.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP reportedly led by 1,468 votes in Ward 63, making it a strategically important area for the ruling party. Although the ward’s councillor since 2010 has been Trinamool leader Sushmita Bhattacharya, the party leadership is keen to prevent a repeat of past results. Sources within the party indicate that Javed Khan has been asked to actively campaign in the ward, reach out to voters and highlight development work carried out by Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur.