“You shut the door. We broke the wall down”: From Expulsion to Victory, Mahua Moitra Wins the Krishnanagar Seat, all set to return to the Parliament

Trinamool Congress candidate Mahua Moitra emerged victorious in the Krishnanagar Lok Sabha constituency of West Bengal on Tuesday, June 4, defeating BJP's Amrita Roy. Moitra, who faced expulsion from Parliament in December 2023 over cash-for-query allegations, secured 6,28,789 votes, surpassing Roy's tally of 5,72,084 votes.

Despite the controversy surrounding her expulsion, Moitra's political ambitions prevailed as she secured a significant victory in the Krishnanagar constituency. The BJP fielded Amrita Roy, a member of a royal family of Krishnanagar. Taking to social media platform “X”, Mahua Moita thanked her voters and West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress Supremo Mamata Banerjee. Moitra also shared a picture of her collecting her winning certificate, and captioned it, “You shut the door. We broke the wall down”, launching a veiled attack on her expulsion from the parliament.

The allegations against Moitra surfaced when BJP MP Nishikant Dubey accused her of accepting bribes from a business rival of the Adani group in exchange for raising questions in the Lok Sabha. Dubey alleged that Moitra targeted the Adani Group and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the behest of businessman Darshan Hiranandani, who purportedly provided gifts to Moitra. Consequently, a Lok Sabha ethics panel conducted a probe, finding her guilty and recommending her expulsion. Her Lok Sabha membership was revoked, and a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case was initiated against her. However, Moitra has vehemently denied these allegations, dismissing them as baseless and politically motivated, and has vowed to return to Parliament after securing re-election.

The Krishnanagar constituency, which went to polls in Phase 4 on May 13, 2024, comprises seven assembly seats in the Nadia district: Tehatta, Palashipara, Kaliganj, Nakashipara, Chapra, Krishnanagar Uttar, and Krishnanagar Dakshin. A total of 11 candidates contested from the Krishnanagar seat in the Lok Sabha elections 2024.