BJP names 19 candidates for LS polls in Bengal; yet to name nominees in 4 seats

Kolkata/Siliguri: In the face of increasing discontent among its party members, the BJP announced its second list for Bengal on Sunday, revealing the names of 19 candidates for the forthcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The party has fielded three former Trinamool Congress (TMC) members who switched allegiance. The BJP, however, failed to name candidates in four seats.

Former Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who ran a tirade against the TMC, has been given a ticket by the BJP and will contest from Tamluk.

Rekha Patra who had reportedly lodged the complaint in connection with the Sandeshkhali incident has become the candidate for BJP in Basirhat.

TMC had always alleged that the BJP had kept the Sandeshkhali controversy alive to gain political advantage ahead of Lok Sabha polls.

A section of TMC leaders are saying that Patra has received her award from the BJP for "keeping alive the protest" against the ruling party in Bengal.

For the Darjeeling seat, the expected list included outgoing MP Raju Bista and former foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, however, the scales tilted in favour of Raju Bista.

Sitting BJP MP from Barrackpore, Arjun Singh, who had previously switched over to the Trinamool Congress two years ago and then returned to the saffron party once again after being denied a ticket by the ruling party in Bengal, is going to contest again from Barrackpore on BJP’s ticket.

Trinamool Congress candidate Partha Bhowmick is pitted against him.

Similarly, Trinamool Congress's four-term MLA who claimed himself to be a deserving candidate for North Kolkata switched over to BJP ahead of Lok Sabha polls with a hope that the saffron party may field a candidate from North Kolkata. BJP has not disappointed him. Roy will now contest against Trinamool Congress’ Sudip Bandyopadhyay with whom he had much indifference. It is going to be a nerve battle as Roy’s opponent is a five-term party MP.

Putting an end to the speculation over the nomination of retired Kolkata High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay, the BJP has fielded him for Tamluk Lok Sabha constituency where he is pitted against Trinamool Congress’ youth leader Debangshu Bhattacharya.

Once a Trinamool Congress leader Silbhadra Dutta who had joined BJP earlier has been fielded for Dum Dum where he is going to face a difficult opponent in Trinamool Congress veteran Sougata Roy.

Interestingly, Dilip Ghosh who had so long carried out the party’s baton on his shoulder was shifted to Bardhaman Durgapur Lok Sabha constituency from his old seat Midnapore. There was speculation going on that Ghosh may be dropped from the Midnapore seat as the Opposition leader in Bengal Suvendu Adhikari was not keen on selecting Ghosh for Midnapore.

BJP MLA Agnimitra Pal is going to contest on BJP’s ticket from Midnapore. She is pitted against Trinamool Congress’ June Malia.

Debashree Chowdhury has been fielded by the BJP for Kolkata Dakshin where she is pitted against Trinamool Congress’ Mala Roy. The saffron party has fielded Amrita Roy for Krishnanagar where she will be contesting against Trinamool Congress’ Mahua Moitra.

BJP announced the names of candidates for Darjeeling; Jalpaiguri and Raiganj Lok Sabha seats. With several contenders for the BJP ticket for the Darjeeling seat, all eyes were focused on who would finally be nominated by the party. The list included outgoing MP Raju Bista and former foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla. Though the Darjeeling BJP committee was rallying behind Bista along with the GNLF, an ally of the BJP, Shringla too was a strong contender owing to his close ties with Prime Minister Modi and the other BJP bigwigs in Delhi. Finally, the scales tilted in favour of Bista.

In 2019, Bista had won from the Darjeeling constituency with 408109 votes, the highest victory margin in West Bengal, defeating Amar Singh Rai, supported by TMC in the fray. This time Gopal Lama is the TMC candidate pitted against Bista.

In Jalpaiguri, the BJP has nominated Dr. Jayanta Kumar Roy, the outgoing MP. Though there were several names sent to the party high command, Roy bagged the ticket. Professor Nirmal Chandra Roy, MLA, Dhupguri of the TMC and Debraj Barman of the Left Front are in the fray from Jalpaiguri.

In Raiganj, the BJP has fielded Kartick Paul replacing winning candidate Debasree Chaudhuri. Chaudhuri had won the 2019 election by 60650 votes. However many within the BJP had raised allegations that she hardly visited her constituency. They demanded a ‘Bhumiputra’ (son or daughter of the soil) instead.