New Delhi: West Bengal Chief of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari will contest from Kolkata’s Bhabanipur, the constituency presently held by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the BJP introduced Monday whereas releasing its first record of 144 candidates for the two-phase meeting elections scheduled for April 23 and 29.

Adhikari, thought-about one of many BJP’s strongest faces in West Bengal, may even contest from Nandigram, the place he defeated Mamata within the 2021 meeting elections. That loss pressured the chief minister to later contest a bypoll from Bhabanipur to enter the meeting.

Amongst different outstanding BJP leaders within the state, former MP and state president Dilip Ghosh will contest from Kharagpur Sadar, whereas Agnimitra Paul has been fielded from Asansol South.

Former Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta, who unsuccessfully contested the 2021 meeting elections from Tarakeswar, has as soon as once more been fielded, this time from Rashbehari constituency in Kolkata.

The Election Fee of India Sunday introduced the schedule for the West Bengal meeting polls. Outcomes might be out on 4 Could.

In 2021, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) secured 215 seats, whereas the BJP completed a distant second with 77 seats to turn into the official Opposition.

This time, the BJP is banking on what it calls “excessive anti-incumbency” in its bid to unseat the TMC, which has been in energy since 2011 after ending the Left Entrance’s 34-year rule within the state. Each Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Residence Minister Amit Shah have been making frequent visits to the state in current months.

The BJP, which had a vote share of round 4 % within the 2011 meeting elections, has made vital inroads in West Bengal over the previous decade. Within the 2021 polls, although it fell far wanting a majority, its vote share surged to about 38 %.

(Edited by Gitanjali Das)

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