The BJP on Saturday released its first list of 57 candidates for the West Bengal Assembly polls.
The Nandigram Assembly seat in West Bengal’s Purba Medinipur district is all set for a mega political contest with the BJP on Saturday nominating Suvendu Adhikari to take on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
This comes a day after Ms. Banerjee announced that she will contest from Nandigram instead of Bhawanipur in Kolkata. The TMC supremo is expected to arrive in Nandigram on March 9 and will file nomination papers on March 11. The constituency will go to the polls in the second phase on April 1.
Soon after the announcement, the BJP supporters in Nandigram came out on the streets hailing it.
BJP vice president Mukul Roy (left) with party’s general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya release video CDs for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections, in Kolkata on March 6, 2021.
Nandigram came into prominence in March 2007 when 14 villagers were killed in police firing and subsequent violence while protesting against forcible land acquisition by the CPI(M)-led Left Front government. Both Ms. Banerjee and Mr. Adhikari were the most prominent faces leading the fight against the Left regime.
The BJP on Saturday announced the list of 57 candidates out of the 60 Assembly seats that will go to the polls in the first two phases. This included former IPS officer and State vice-president Bharati Ghosh from the Debra seat and former cricketer Ashok Dinda from the Moyna seat.
The BJP left Baghmundi in Purulia district to its ally All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU). It is yet to announce candidates for three seats in the first and second phases on March 27 and April 1 respectively.
