The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday published its initial list of candidates in the forthcoming West Bengal Assembly election which is scheduled in two rounds on April 23 and April 29. It is announced a day following the release of the poll schedule of four states and the Union Territory of Puducherry by the Election Commission.
Some of the key faces in the list include Suvendu Adhikari, a leader of the opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, who will challenge the seat of Bhabanipur, which is the seat of the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Adhikari, one of the prominent BJP leaders in Bengal politics, is currently a MLA of Nandigram where he beat Mamata Banerjee by just about 2,000 votes in the 2021 Assembly elections. After that loss, Banerjee had received a by-election victory at Bhabanipur.
Others who become prominent are Agnimitra Paul of Asansol Dakshin, Rudranil Ghosh of Shibpur, Swami Mangalnanda Puri Maharaj of Uluberia Dakshin, and Bankim Chandra Ghosh of Chakdaha. There are also some local leaders of the party including Subrata Maitra of Panskura and Tarun Kanti Ghosh of Deganga, which is a part of the process of party to give a mixture of old faces with regional leaders. The selection of candidates by the BJP points to a narrower form of efforts at trying to combat the Trinamool Congress in its strongholds even as it tries to increase its influence throughout West Bengal.
This preliminary shortlist of 144 candidates preconditions an electoral struggle of high stakes in the politically important state of India.
Join our whatsapp group for Latest updates
Click Here for Chhattisgarh News
Click Here for Entertainment News