BJP Releases First List of 144 Candidates for West Bengal Assembly Polls; Suvendu Adhikari Fielded from Nandigram and Bhabanipur

Kolkata, March 16: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday announced its first list of 144 candidates for the upcoming elections to the 294-member West Bengal Legislative Assembly. The elections will be conducted in two phases next month on April 23 and April 29, marking a crucial political contest in the eastern state.

One of the most significant highlights of the list is the nomination of the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari. The BJP has fielded Adhikari from two constituencies — his traditional stronghold Nandigram in East Midnapore district and Bhabanipur in south Kolkata.

The Bhabanipur seat is currently represented by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. If Banerjee chooses to contest again from Bhabanipur, it could lead to another high-profile face-off between the two leaders. The potential contest would revive memories of the 2021 Assembly elections, when Adhikari defeated Banerjee in the politically sensitive Nandigram constituency.

Adhikari retained the Nandigram seat in 2021 for the second consecutive term, defeating the Trinamool Congress candidate Mamata Banerjee. Following that defeat, Banerjee later entered the Assembly by winning a by-election from Bhabanipur, enabling her to continue as Chief Minister for a third term.

Another prominent name in the BJP’s first candidate list is senior party leader Dilip Ghosh. Ghosh, who previously served as the state BJP president and national vice-president of the party, has been fielded from Kharagpur Sadar in West Midnapore district. He had earlier won from the same constituency in the 2016 West Bengal Assembly elections.

However, Ghosh had resigned as the MLA from Kharagpur Sadar after being elected to the Lok Sabha from the Medinipur parliamentary seat during the 2019 general elections.

The BJP has also nominated former Rajya Sabha member and noted journalist-turned-politician Swapan Dasgupta from the Rashbehari seat. Meanwhile, actor-turned-politician Rudranil Ghosh will contest from the Shibpur constituency.

Party insiders had earlier indicated that the BJP leadership was likely to retain most of its sitting legislators in the upcoming polls. Reflecting that strategy, the first list largely features familiar faces who are currently representing the party in the Assembly.

However, one notable omission from the list is Ashok Kumar Lahiri, the sitting BJP MLA from Balurghat and a former Chief Economic Adviser to the Union government. Instead, the party has nominated Vidyut Roy from the Balurghat constituency.

Among the sitting legislators who have been renominated is fashion designer-turned-politician Agnimitra Paul, who will once again contest from Asansol Dakshin.

Other sitting MLAs who have been given tickets again include Chandana Bauri from the Saltora seat and Shikha Chattopadhyay from Dabgram–Phulbari.

With the announcement of the first list, the BJP has formally kicked off its campaign preparations for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections, which are expected to witness intense political competition among major parties in the state.