Upcoming polls: Mukul Roy to pick candidates

Kolkata: Mukul Roy will be the key person for the BJP in Bengal during the forthcoming Panchayat elections. Former party's MLA Shamik Bhattacharya will be the Convener. The decision was taken at a meeting held at the party's state headquarters on Saturday. The BJP has decided to field candidates in Gram Panchayats, Panchayat Samities and Zilla Parishads in the three-tier Panchayat system. Roy will be the in-charge in selecting the candidates. State BJP president Dilip Ghosh said party workers will be posted in every booth to fend off violence. Reacting to Ghosh, Firhad Hakim said the TMC does not believe in violence. TMC secretary general Partha Chatterjee said: "The people are with the TMC and the development done by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee."