First phase polls: 1478 candidates to contest in 152 seats on April 23

Kolkata: A total of 1,478 candidates are in the fray for the first phase of elections in Bengal, which will be held in 152 Assembly constituencies (ACs) on April 23. A total of 1,586 candidates had filed nominations for these 152 Assembly constituencies in West Bengal, the last date for which was Monday, April 6. In the 2021 Assembly polls, the number of candidates who had contested in these 152 ACs was 1,062.

As per the final nomination list by the Election Commission of India, 108 candidates have been omitted during scrutiny and withdrawal of nominations.

Cooch Behar Dakshin under Cooch Behar district, Karandighi under North Dinajpur and Itahar in South Dinajpur have 15 candidates in the fray, the highest among the 152 Assembly seats that go to the polls in the first phase.

Interestingly, as many as 29 nominations were filed from the Karandighi constituency. However, it got reduced to 15 after scrutiny and withdrawal. Cooch Behar Dakshin also had 25 nominations filed, out of which 10 have either been rejected or withdrawn.

Nandigram in East Midnapore, which is one of the most talked-about seats in the first phase, with BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari pitted against Trinamool Congress’s Pabitra Kar, has 11 candidates contesting. In the case of Nandigram, 23 nominations were filed; however, after scrutiny and withdrawal, a dozen have been excluded.

Chandrakona (SC) in West Midnapore accounts for only five candidates contesting the polls—the lowest among all the poll-bound ACs in the first phase. Bagmundi in Purulia, where 25 nominations were filed, presently has 11 candidates, with 14 being rejected after scrutiny and withdrawal.

As per data from the poll body, the second phase of elections, scheduled to be held in 142 seats on April 29, has witnessed the filing of 1,525 nominations.

The Bhowanipore seat, where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is pitted against BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari, has 17 nominations filed.