BJP finalises 12 names as bypoll candidates

Kolkata: The state BJP unit is learnt to have finalised 12 names for candidates for the upcoming bypolls in four Assembly seats in Bengal which are being sent to Delhi while certain leaders of the party chose to skip the core committee meeting that was recently held in the city.

The Election Commission (EC) has decided to conduct bypolls in four seats in Bengal on July 10. These seats are Ranaghat South in Nadia, Bagda in North 24-Parganas, Maniktala in Kolkata and Raiganj in North Dinajpur. The last date for filing of nominations in these four seats is June 21 and the last date for nomination withdrawal is June 26.

It was learnt that the BJP has finalised 12 names as possible candidates and which is being sent to its lDelhi leadership for approval. Sources said for the Bagda seat, BJP is likely to field the wife of the party’s MP-elect from Bongaon, Santanu Thakur. For Maniktala seat, the party may again field Kalyan Choubey who was defeated in 2021

Assembly election by TMC’s Sadhan Pandey.

Sources said that the BJP is also relying on the wisdom of its local leaders for finalising candidates.

After its poor performance in Lok Sabha elections in Bengal, many of its tall leaders who lost the elections had blamed the ignorance of the party towards its local leaders who are well versed with the on-ground situation. Meanwhile, certain BJP leaders such as Suvendu Adhikari, Nisith Pramanik and Subhas Sarkar are learnt to have skipped the recent core committee meeting held by the party. The latter two lost the Lok Sabha polls this time.

Talking to reporters before leaving the city, Adhikari said: “I am going to Cooch Behar. Nearly 270 workers of our party have taken shelter in our party offices. I will interact with them. It is more important to stand by the victims of

post-poll violence than

attending meetings.”