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Bengal

BJP announces candidate list for 3rd, 4th phases; sparks resentment across party line

BJP announces candidate list for 3rd, 4th phases; sparks resentment across party line
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Kolkata: The BJP on Sunday released the candidate list for the third and fourth phases, however, what the party thought to be a master stroke while nominating octogenarian Rabindranath Bhattacharjee from Singur Assembly constituency in Hooghly proved to be a boomerang with a section of BJP supporters agitating against Bhattacharjee's candidature.

Meanwhile, Subir Nag former BJP president of Hooghly district resigned from the party stating that he is quitting and will return if the party gives him the due respect and calls him back.

The BJP supporters demanded that Bhattacharjee's name should be immediately withdrawn from the candidate list. The BJP workers claimed that they were targeted and even arrested due to Rabindranath Bhattacharya who was then the local MLA from Trinamool Congress. The BJP on Sunday released candidate list for 63 seats—27 names for the third phase and 36 names for the fourth phase. 31 Assembly constituencies (ACs) are going for polls in the third phase and 44 ACs in the

fourth phase.

Bhattacharya was among five sitting TMC MLAs who joined the BJP on March 8 after he was denied a ticket as the party decided not to field any candidates of 80 years of age or older. Becharam Manna has been nominated by the TMC to contest in the Singur seat. Journalist-turned-BJP leader Rantidev Sengupta, who had contested from Howrah Lok Sabha constituency in 2019 Lok Sabha polls also said that he would not contest as a BJP candidate from any constituency in the state, however, after senior leaders of the BJP intervened he agreed to contest the polls from the

announced seat.

"It is completely my personal decision. I don't want to contest from any Assembly seat in the upcoming polls and I will continue to take part in poll campaigns across the state. Neither I had requested the BJP to make me a candidate nor the party had informed me about it before announcing my name as a candidate," Sengupta who was fielded from Howrah Dakshin had earlier said. Resentment against candidature also surfaced at Alipurduar with local BJP leadership not approving the candidature of economist Ashok Lahiri from Alipurduar seat.

The names of parliamentarians including minister Babul Supriyo from Tollygunj, Locket Chatterjee from Chinsurah in Hooghly, Swapan Dasgupta from Tarakeshwar in Hooghly and Nisith Pramanik from Dinhata in Cooch Behar were enlisted by the BJP on Sunday. Trinamool Congress defectors Rajib Banerjee has been fielded from Domjur (Howrah) and Prabir Ghoshal from Uttarpara (Hooghly). Both have been given their old seats. Actors Payel Sarkar and Yash Dasgupta will contest from Behala East and Chanditala (Hooghly) respectively while Tanusree Chakraborty and Anjana Basu has been fielded from Shyampur in Howrah and Anjana Basu from Sonarpur Dakshin.

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