Grand Alliance announces first list of candidates for Bengal polls 2021. (Image for representational purpose)
Grand Alliance comprising Left Front, Congress and ISF on Friday announced the first list of candidates for Bengal assembly election 2021. Earlier in the day, Trinamool Congress led by Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, released the full list of 291 candidates for the forthcoming elections in the state. Meanwhile, BJP is also expected to release the first list of candidates for the upcoming polls.
A Congress MP Pradip Bhattacharya said, "names of Congress candidates for seats allotted to it in the alliance will be announced by the high command in Delhi."
West Bengal assembly elections 2021 will be held in 8 phases beginning March 27 while the final phase will take place on April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.
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Along with West Bengal, 3 other states including Assam, Tamil Nadu and Kerala and UT Puducherry will also witness assembly elections in March and April. Counting of votes for all the states elections and Puducherry will be held simultaneously on May 2.
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Besides this, the list of 291 TMC candidates included 50 women, 42 Muslim candidates and a slew of Bengal's Tollywood celebrities who had joined the Trinamool bandwagon recently.
Banerjee said that she will contest from East Midnapore's Nandigram this time. "I am going to Nandigram on 9th March. On 10th March, I will file the nomination at Haldia," she said.
State power minister and Trinamool Congress veteran Sovandeb Chatterjee will contest from the Bhawanipore seat as Mamata chose to contest from Nandigram. Ex-Trinamool councillor Debashis Kumar will contest from Rashbihari seat, in place of Chatterjee.
(With inputs from IANS)
