BJP releases first list of 144 candidates for West Bengal, pits Suvendu against Mamata
The BJP names Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari as its candidate from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Bhabanipur seat while retaining him in Nandigram
The saffron party has fielded Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Suvendu Adhikari, a former close aide of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from her current constituency of Bhabanipur.
Adhikari will also be contesting from the Nandigram constituency, which he currently represents.
Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee had won from Bhabanipur in the bypoll held in 2021, which was crucial for her to continue as the chief minister after her defeat in Nandigram at the hands of Suvendu Adhikari.
Other prominent BJP candidates
Former BJP president Dilip Ghosh is once again contesting from Kharagpur Sadar, from where he sprang a surprise victory on his electoral debut against Congress veteran and former Union Minister late Gyan Singh Sohanpal in the 2016 Assembly elections.
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Former Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta has been fielded from the Rashbehari constituency. In Howrah’s Shibpur constituency, actor-turned-politician Rudranil Ghosh has been nominated as the candidate. The party has nominated Soumitra Chattopadhyay from Naihati, a descendant of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, the composer of Vande Mataram.
Most of the sitting BJP MLAs have also been renominated this time. The BJP has fielded 11 women candidates as well. Agnimitra Paul has been fielded from Asansol South. Chandana Bauri is again contesting from Saltora in Bankura district. Shikha Chattopadhyay has once again been fielded from the Dabgram-Fulbari constituency in Jalpaiguri.
Decided to field most sitting MLAs
According to a report in Anandbazar Patrika quoting BJP sources, it had already been indicated that most of the party’s sitting MLAs would receive tickets again this time.
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Accordingly, the first list of candidates features a large number of familiar faces. However, the name of Ashok Lahiri, the current MLA from the Balurghat constituency, does not appear in the first list. Instead, Bidyut Roy has been fielded from that seat.
Among the sitting MLAs, Agnimitra Paul has been nominated from Asansol South. Chandana Bauri will once again contest from the Saltora constituency in Bankura. Shikha Chattopadhyay has again been nominated from the Dabgram–Phulbari constituency in Jalpaiguri.
Two-Phase polling in Bengal
The Election Commission (EC) on Sunday announced that polling for the 294-member West Bengal Assembly will be conducted in two phases.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar said voting will take place on April 23 and April 29, while counting of votes will be held on May 4.
The first phase will cover 152 constituencies, including districts in North Bengal and the Junglemahal region in the south-western parts of the state. The remaining 142 constituencies will go to the polls in the second and final phase.