Kolkata: Debasish Dhar, a former IPS officer whose candidature was rejected in the 2024 Parliamentary elections due to non-submission of his no-dues certificate, has been fielded by the BJP again for the 2026 Assembly elections.
On Tuesday, the BJP announced its fourth list of candidates, naming Dhar as its nominee from the Sonarpur Uttar Assembly constituency against three-time Trinamool Congress MLA Firdousi Begum. During the 2021 Assembly elections, Dhar, then serving as Superintendent of Police of Cooch Behar, was embroiled in controversy after central forces opened fire, leading to the death of five voters, including a first-time voter.
Dhar had then stated that the firing was in self-defence as the mob attempted to snatch weapons. He was later removed from the post and placed under suspension.
In 2024, his suspension was withdrawn and he was posted as Officer on Compulsory Waiting (OCW), while also facing a probe by the state. Shortly afterwards, he resigned from service and joined the BJP. He was then fielded as the party’s candidate from Birbhum in the 2024 Parliamentary elections against Trinamool Congress MP Shatabdi Roy.
However, his candidature was rejected following controversy over the non-submission of a no-dues certificate.
This time, Dhar has been fielded against Begum, who has been MLA from Sonarpur Uttar since 2011. Prior to that, she served as a councillor since 2004 and was also the Vice-Chairperson of the Rajpur-Sonarpur Municipality.
Dhar is likely to face a tough contest against the three-time MLA, who enjoys strong support in the constituency. In 2016, Begum secured 1,01,939 votes, while in 2021 she received 1,19,957 votes. BJP candidate Ranjan Baidya had secured 83,867 votes in the 2021 Assembly elections.