SAILs Avijit is Pranabs sonrise in West Bengal

West Bengal Assembly polls are still some months away,but the Congress may already have finalised its candidate for at least one seat.

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The West Bengal Assembly elections are still some months away,but the Congress may already have finalised its candidate for at least one seat. Avijit Mukherjee,son of Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee,is set to start in his fathers profession contesting his first election from Nalhati in Birbhum district.

State Congress spokesman Sukhendu Sekhar Roy said Avijit Mukherjees entry into politics cannot be announced officially until it is decided exactly how he can reconcile his current professional status as an employee of a public sector undertaking with a career in politics.

But it would be a welcome development because Pranabda is playing a decisive role in Indian politics. If his son comes into politics,we should congratulate him, Roy said. Avijit Mukherjee,52,is an engineering graduate from Kolkatas Jadavpur University,and currently a general manager with Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL). He lives in Delhi with his homemaker wife Chitralekha. Their children,a son and a daughter,study in the UK.

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Mukherjee was in Nalhati on November 3,where he attended a Vijayadashami ceremony hosted by Asit Mal,the Birbhum district president of the Congress. Mal requested Mukherjee to enter politics. Mukherjee is learnt to have told Congress workers that he will start meeting with members of booth-level committees from the second week of December.

Local Congress sources,however,said it would be difficult for Mukherjee to win the seat without the cooperation of Biplab Ojha,a powerful Trinamool Congress leader from the area,and an aspirant for the Trinamool ticket. Nalhati has voted Forward Bloc in every election since 1977; however,in the Lok Sabha elections of 2009,the Trinamool led the Nalhati segment by over 10,000 votes.

Ojha,Birbhum district secretary of the Trinamool,said,I have also heard that Avijitbabu may contest the election from Nalhati. Let us see what happens in the next few days. But added,If we (the Trinamool) can forge an alliance with the Congress,I must work for Avijitbabu.

State Congress sources said senior party leaders who have interacted with Mukherjee feel that he will be able to deliver. Leaders close to Mukherjee said that despite not being in politics,he keeps a close watch on all political developments.

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We will get a new face once Mukherjee joins politics. Obviously this is a positive development for the Congress, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy said. Manas Bhuniya,president of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee,said,I welcome Mukherjees decision to enter politics.

Mukherjee himself,when contacted,said,I am still an employee of a government-run organisation. I should not speak about politics right now.

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