Bengal Assembly Polls: Mamata vs Suvendu in Bhabanipur as TMC releases list of 291 candidates

Kolkata:

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Tuesday announced names of 291 candidates for the upcoming Assembly election in West Bengal. Party chief and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will contest from her stronghold Bhabanipur. 

The announcement was made in a press conference by TMC General Secretary and Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee.

There are 52 women candidates in the list. Besides, 95 candidates are from SC/ST communities. 

Key battle in Bhabanipur 

Bhabanipur has emerged as a key battleground, set for a high-stakes contest between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari. On Monday, the BJP announced Adhikari’s name in its first list of 144 candidates. He will also contest from Nandigram, where he defeated Banerjee in the previous election. TMC's Pabitra Kar will be contesting against him in Nandigram this time.  

TMC leaves three seats for allies

The TMC has left three seats for Anit Thapa-led Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM). These seats are Kalimpong, Darjeeling and Kurseong.

Key candidates in fray (Cabinet Ministers)

1. Manas Ranjan Bhunia from Sabang.
2. Snehasis Chakraborty from Jangipara.
3. Moloy Ghatak from Asansol Uttar.
4. Aroop Biswas from Tollyganj.
5. Ujjwal Biswas from Krishnanagar Dakshin.
6. Arup Roy from Howrah Madhya.
7. Rathin Ghosh from Madhyamgram.
8. Firhad Hakim from Kolkata Port.
9. Chandranath Sinha from Bolpur.
10. Bankim Chandra Hazra from Sagar.
11. Pulak Roy from Uluberia Dakshin.
12. Shashi Panja from Shyampukur.
13. Biplab Mitra from Harirampur.
14. Javed Ahmed Khan from Kasba.
15. Swapan Debnath from Purbasthali Dakshin.
16. Siddiqullah Chowdhury from Manteswar.
17. Udayan Guha from Dinhata.
18. Pradip Mazumdar from Durgapur Purba.
19. Md. Ghulam Rabbani from Goalpokhar.
20. Becharam Manna from Singur.
21. Chandrima Bhattacharya from Dum Dum Uttar.
22. Sandhya Rani Tudu from Manbazar.
23. Bulu Chik Baraik from Mal.
24. Sujit Bose from Bidhannagar.
25. Indranil Sen from Chandannagar.
26. Birbaha Hansda from Binpur.
27. Sovandeb Chattopadhyay from Ballygunge.
28. Janab Akhruzzaman from Raghunathganj.
29. Dilip Mondal from Bishnupur.
30. Seuli Saha from Keshpur.
31. Satyajit Barman from Hemtabad.
32. Sabina Yeasmin from Sujapur.
33. Bratya Basu from Dum Dum.

Four sitting ministers—Biplab Roy Chowdhury, Tajmul Hossain, Jyotsna Mandi, and Manoj Tiwary—have been denied tickets. Chowdhury currently serves as a Cabinet Minister, while the other three hold positions as Ministers of State.

Among the other prominent names contesting the election are Madan Mitra, who has been fielded from Kamarhati and Kunal Ghosh, who will contest from Beleghata.

The elections for the 294-member West Bengal Assembly are scheduled to take place in two phases on April 23 and April 29. The counting of votes will be conducted on May 4.