The BJP and ruling Trinamool Congress, headed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, are engaged in an intense election campaign in West Bengal with the saffron party deploying its enviable political machinery to capture power in the state which it has never ruled. Several Union ministers, MPs and other leaders recognised for their organisational and poll management skills have been roped in by the saffron party to drive its campaign in the state, with special attention on the seats which it considers winnable.
WEST BENGAL POLLS 2021: FULL COVERAGE
The saffron party made deep inroads in West Bengal by winning 18 of its 42 Lok Sabha seats in 2019 - only four less than ruling TMC. The BJP projects it as an alternative to the Trinamool Congress which is ruling the state since 2011 under Mamata Banerjee’s leadership. Its leaders are upbeat that the party will end Mamata Banerjee's 10-year rule in the assembly polls. The party is organising a series of events wherein it is highlighting the failures of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee with a focus on political killings, minority appeasement, and poor handling of the COVID-19 situation. The saffron party expects to repeat the 2019 general elections performance in the upcoming Assembly elections.
The Trinamool Congress, on the other hand, is confident that Mamata's charisma will help the party retain the power in the state for another term even as its several MLAs and top leaders including Suvendu Adhikari have jumped onto the saffron ship.
The third alliance that is working hard to make inroads in the state is led by Congress. The Congress party is contesting the West Bengal assembly elections in alliance with the Left and Indian Secular Front (ISF) of Muslim cleric Abbas Siddiqui. Interestingly, Congress is fighting the CPI-M in Kerala as the principal opposition party.
Elections to the 294-member West Bengal assembly will be held in eight phases on March 27, April 1, April 6, April 10, April 17, April 22, April 26 and April 29. Results will be declared on May 2. The term of West Bengal Legislative Assembly will expire on May 30.
In 2016 the TMC had won 211 seats in the 294-member House. The Left-Congress alliance had bagged 77 seats and the BJP three.
BENGAL POLLS 2021: Here is the party-wise list of candidates:
SEAT | BJP | TMC | CONGRESS+ | OTHERS |
Nandigram | Suvendu Adhikari | Mamata Banerjee | ||
Bhawanipore | Sovandeb Chattopadhyay | |||
Mekliganj (SC) | Paresh Chandra Adhikary | |||
Mathabhanga (SC) | Girindra Nath Barman | |||
Coochbehar Uttar (SC) | Binay Krishna Barman | |||
Coochbehar Dakshin | Avijit Dey Bhowmik (Hippy) | |||
Sitalkuchi (SC) | Partha Pratim Ray | |||
Sitai (SC) | Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia | |||
Dinhata | Udayan Guha | |||
Natabari | Rabindra Nath Ghosh | |||
Tufanganj | Pranab Kumar Dey (Manik) | |||
Kumargram (ST) | Leos Kujur | |||
Kalchini (ST) | Pasang Lama | |||
Alipurduar | Sourav Chakraborty | |||
Falakata (SC) | Subhash Ray | |||
Madarihat (SC) | Rajesh Lakra (Tiger) | |||
Dhupguri (SC) | Bisnu Pada Roy | Mitali Roy | ||
Maynaguri (SC) | Koushik Roy | Manoj Roy | ||
Jalpaiguri (SC) | Advocate Sujit Singha | Pradip Kumar Barma | ||
Rajganj (SC) | Supen Roy | Khageswar Roy | ||
Dabgram-Phulbari | Shikha Chatterjee | Goutam Deb | ||
Mal (ST) | Mahesh Bagey | Bulu Chik Baraik | ||
Nagrakata (ST) | Puna Bhengra | Joseph Munda | ||
Kalimpong | Subha Pradhan | ****** | ||
Darjeeling | Neeraj Tamang Zimba | **** | ||
Kurseong | Bishnu Prasad Sharma | **** | ||
Matigara-Naxalbari (SC) | Anandamoy Barman | Captain Nalini Ranjay Ray | ||
Siliguri | Shankar Ghosh | Omprakash Mishra | ||
Phansidewa (ST) | Durga Murmu | Choton Kisku | ||
Chopra | Hamidul Rahaman | |||
Islampur | Abdul Karim Chowdhury | |||
Goalpokhar | Ghulam Rabbani | |||
Chakulia | Minhajul Arfin Azad | |||
Karandighi | Subhash Singha | Goutam Pal | ||
Hemtabad (SC) | Satyajit Barman | |||
Kaliganj (SC) | Tapan Deb Singha | |||
Raiganj | Kanaia Lal Agarwal | |||
Itahar | Amit Kumar Kundu | Mosaraf Hossain | ||
Kushmandi (SC) | Rekha Roy | |||
Kumarganj | Toraf Hossain Mandal | |||
Balurghat | Ashok Lahiri | Sekhar Dasgupta | ||
Tapan (ST) | Kalpana Kisku | |||
Gangarampur (SC) | Goutam Das | |||
Harirampur | Biplab Mitra | |||
Habibpur (ST) | Pradeep Baskey | |||
Gazole (SC) | Basanti Barman | |||
Chanchal | Nihar Ranjan Ghosh | |||
Harishchandrapur | Tajmul Hossain | |||
Malatipur | Abdur Rahim Boxi | |||
Ratua | Samar Mukherjee | |||
Manikchak | Sabitri Mitra | |||
Maldaha (SC) | Ujjal Chowdhury | |||
English Bazar | Krishnendu Narayan Chowdhury | |||
Mothabari | Sabina Yeasmin | |||
Sujapur | Md Abdul Ghani | |||
Baisnabnagar | Chandana Sarkar | |||
Farakka | Monirul Islam | |||
Samserganj | Amirul Islam | |||
Suti | Emani Biswas | |||
Jangipur | Jakir Hossain | |||
Raghunathganj | Akhruzzaman | |||
Sagardighi | Subrata Saha | |||
Lalgola | Mohammad Ali | |||
Bhagawangola | Idris Ali | |||
Raninagar | Soumik Hossain | |||
Murshidabad | Shaoni Singha Roy | |||
Nabagram (SC) | Kanai Chandra Mondal | |||
Khargram (SC) | Ashish Marjit | |||
Burwan (SC) | Jiban Krishna Saha | |||
Kandi | Apurba Sarkar (David) | |||
Bharatpur | Humayun Kabir | |||
Rejinagar | Rabiul Alam Chowdhury | |||
Beldanga | Hasanuzzaman Sk. | |||
Baharampur | Naru Gopal Mukherjee | |||
Hariharpara | Niamot Sheikh | |||
Naoda | Sahina Mamtaz Begum (Khan) | |||
Domkal | Jafikul Islam | |||
Jalangi | Abdur Razzak | |||
Karimpur | Bimalendu Sinha Roy | |||
Tehatta | Tapas Kumar Saha | |||
Palashipara | Manik Bhattacharya | |||
Kaliganj | Naseeruddin Ahamed (Lal) | |||
Nakashipara | Kallol Khan | |||
Chapra | Rukbanur Rahman | |||
Krishnanagar Uttar | Koushani Mukherjee (Actress) | |||
Nabadwip | Pundarikakshya Saha (Nanda) | |||
Krishnanagar Dakshin | Ujjal Biswas | |||
Santipur | Jagannath Sarkar (MP) | Ajoy Dey | ||
Ranaghat Uttar Paschim | Path Sarathi Chatterjee | Sankar Singha | ||
Krishnaganj (SC) | Asish Kumar Biswas | Tapas Mandal | ||
Ranaghat Uttar Purba (SC) | Ashim Biswas | Samir Kumar Poddar | ||
Ranaghat Dakshin (SC) | Mukut Mani Adhikari | Barnali Dey | ||
Chakdaha | Subhankar Singha (Jishu) | |||
Kalyani (SC) | Ramendra Nath Biswas | |||
Haringhata (SC) | Nilima Nag (Mallick) | |||
Bagdah (SC) | Biswajit Das | Paritosh Kumar Saha | ||
Bangaon Uttar (SC) | Ashok Kritonia | Shyamal Roy | ||
Bangaon Dakshin (SC) | Alo Rani Sarkar | |||
Gaighata (SC) | Subrata Thakur | Narottam Biswas | ||
Swarupnagar (SC) | Bina Mandal | |||
Baduria | Quazi Abdur Rahim | |||
Habra | Jyoti Priya Mallick | |||
Ashoknagar | Dhiman Roy | |||
Amdanga | Mustaque Mortaza | |||
Bijpur | Subodh Adhikary | |||
Naihati | Partha Bhowmick | |||
Bhatpara | Jitendra Shaw | |||
Jagatdal | Somnath Shyam | |||
Noapara | Manju Basu | |||
Barrackpore | Raj Chakraborty (Film Director) | |||
Khardaha North | Kajal Sinha | |||
Dum Dum Uttar | Chandrima Bhattacharya | |||
Panihati | Nirmal Ghosh | |||
Kamarhati | Madan Mitra | |||
Baranagar | Tapas Roy | |||
Dum Dum | Bratya Basu | |||
Rajarhat Newtown | Tapas Chatterjee | |||
Bidhannagar | Sujit Bose | |||
Rajarhat Gopalpur | Aditi Munshi | |||
Madhyamgram | Rathin Ghosh | |||
Barasat | Chiranjeet Chakrabarti | |||
Deganga | Rahima Mondal | |||
Haroa | Sk. Nurul Islam (Haji) | |||
Minakhan (SC) | Usha Rani Mondal | |||
Sandeshkhali (ST) | Sukumar Mahata | |||
Basirhat Dakshin | Dr. Saptarshi Banerjee | |||
Basirhat Uttar | Rafikul Islam Mondal | |||
Hingalganj (SC) | Debes Mondal | |||
Gosaba (SC) | Chitta (Barun) Pramanik | Jayanta Naskar | ||
Basanti (SC) | Ramesh Maji | Shyamal Mondal | ||
Kultali (SC) | Mintu Haldar | Ganesh Chandra Mondal | ||
Patharpratima | Ashit Haldar | Samir Kumar Jana | ||
Kakdwip | Deepankar Jana | Manturam Pakhira | ||
Sagar | Bankim Chandra Hazra | |||
Kulpi | Pranab Mallik | Jogaranjan Halder | ||
Raidighi | Shantanu Bapuli | Alok Jaldata | ||
Mandirbazar (SC) | Dilip Jatuwa | Jaydeb Halder | ||
Jaynagar (SC) | Robin Sardar | Biswanath Das | ||
Baruipur Purba (SC) | Chandan Mandal | Bibhas Sardar | ||
Canning Purba | Kalipada Naskar | Saokat Molla | ||
Canning Paschim (SC) | Arnab Roy | Paresh Ram Das | ||
Baruipur Paschim | Debapam Chaatopadhyay | Biman Banerjee | ||
Magrahat Purba (SC) | Chandan Naskar | Namita Saha | ||
Magrahat Paschim | Manash Saha (Dhuwajoti) | Giasuddin Molla | ||
Diamond Harbour | Dipak Haldar | Pannalal Halder | ||
Falta | Bidhan Parui | Sankar Kumar Naskar | ||
Satgachia | Chandan Paul Das | Mohan Chandra Naskar | ||
Bishnupur (SC) | Agnishwar Naskar | Dilip Mondal | ||
Sonarpur Dakshin | Lovely Moitra (Actress) | |||
Bhangar | Md. Rezaul Karim | |||
Kasba | Javed Ahmed Khan | |||
Jadavpur | Moloy Majumder | |||
Sonarpur Uttar | Firdousi Begum | |||
Tollyganj | Aroop Biswas | |||
Behala Purba | Ratna Chatterjee | |||
Behala Paschim | Dr. Partha Chatterjee | |||
Maheshtala | Dulal Chandra Das | |||
Budge Budge | Ashok Deb | |||
Metiabruz Abdul | Khaleque Molla | |||
Kolkata Port | Firhad Hakim | |||
Rashbehari | Lt. Gen Subrata Saha | Debasish Kumar | ||
Ballygunge | Subrata Mukherjee | |||
Chowrangee | Nayna Bandyopadhyay | |||
Entally | Swarna Kamal Saha | |||
Beleghata | Paresh Paul | |||
Jorasanko | Vivek Gupta | |||
Shyampukur | Shashi Panja | |||
Maniktala | Sadhan Pande | |||
Kashipur Belgachhia | Atin Ghosh | |||
Bally | Dr. Rana Chatterjee | |||
Howrah Uttar | Goutam Chowdhury | |||
Howrah Madhya | Arup Roy | |||
Shibpur | Manoj Tiwary | |||
Howrah Dakshin | Nandita Chowdhury | |||
Sankrail (SC) | Priya Paul | |||
Panchla | Gulsan Mullick | |||
Uluberia Purba | Bidesh Bose (Footballer) | |||
Uluberia Uttar (SC) | Chiran Bera | Dr. Nirmal Maji | ||
Uluberia Dakshin | Paapia Adhukari | Pulak Roy | ||
Shyampur | Tanushree Chakraborty | Kalipada Mandal | ||
Bagnan | Anupam Mallik | Arunava Sen (Raja) | ||
Amta | Debtanu Bhattacharya | Sukanto Paul | ||
Udaynarayanpur | Sumit Ranjan Karar | Samir Kumar Panja | ||
Jagatballavpur | Anupam Ghosh | Sitanath Ghosh | ||
Domjur | Kalyanendu Ghosh | |||
Uttarpara | Kanchak Mallick (Actor) | |||
Sreerampur | Dr. Sudipta Roy | |||
Champdani | Arindam Guin | |||
Singur | Becharam Manna | |||
Chandannagar | Indranil Sen | |||
Chunchura | Asit Mazumder (Tapan) | |||
Balagarh (SC) | Monoranjan Byapari | |||
Pandua | Dr. Ratna De (Nag) | |||
Saptagram | Tapan Dasgupta | |||
Chanditala | Swati Khandoker | |||
Jangipara | Debjit Sarkar | Snehasis Chakraborty | ||
Haripal | Samiran Mitra | Karabi Manna | ||
Dhanekhali (SC) | Tushar Majumdar | Asima Patra | ||
Tarakeswar | Swapan Dasgupta | Ramendu Singha Roy | ||
Pursurah | Biman Ghosh | Dilip Yadav | ||
Arambag (SC) | Madhusudhan Bag | Sujata Mondal Khan | ||
Goghat (SC) | Biswanath Karak | Manas Majumdar | ||
Khanakul | Susanta Ghosh | Munsi Nazbul Karim | ||
Tamluk Purba | Harekrishna Bera | Dr. Saumen Kumar Mahapatra | ||
Panskura Purba | Debabrata Patnayak | Biplab Roy Chowdhury | ||
Panskura Paschim | Shintu Senapati | Phiroja Bibi | ||
Moyna | Ashok Dinda (Cricketer) | Kumar Dolui | ||
Nandakumar | Nilanjan Adhikari | Sukumar De | ||
Mahisadal | Biswanath Banarjee | Tilak Chakraborty | ||
Haldia (SC) | Tapashi Mondal | Swapan Naskar | ||
Chandipur | Pulak Kanti Guriya | Soham Chakraborty (Actor) | ||
Patashpur | Ambujaksha Mahanti | Uttam Barik | ||
Kanthi Uttar | Sunita Singha | Tarun Kumar Jana | ||
Bhagabanpur | Rabindranath Maity | Ardhendu Maity | ||
Khejuri (SC) | Santanu Pramanik | Partha Pratim Das | ||
Kanthi Dakshin | Arup Kumar Das | Jyotirmoy Kar | ||
Ramnagar | Swadesh Ranjan Nayak | Akhil Giri | ||
Egra | Arup Das | Tarun Maity | ||
Dantan | Sakti Pada Nayak | Bikram Chandra Pradhan | ||
Keshiary (ST) | Sonali Murmu | Paresh Murmu | ||
Kharagpur Sadar | Hiramoy Chattopadhyay | Pradip Sarkar | ||
Narayangarh | Ramprasad Giri | Surya Kanta Atta | ||
Sabang | Amulya Maity | Manas Ranjan Bhunia | ||
Pingla | Antara Bhattacharya | Ajit Maity | ||
Kharagpur | Dinen Roy | |||
Debra | Bharati Ghosh | Humayun Kabir (Ex IPS) | ||
Daspur | Prashanth Bera | Mamata Bhunia | ||
Ghatal (SC) | Shital Kapat | Shankar Dolai | ||
Chandrakona (SC) | Shibram Das | Arup Dhara | ||
Garbeta | Madan Ruidas | Uttara Singha (Hazra) | ||
Salboni Paschim | Rajib Kundu | Srikanto Mahato | ||
Keshpur (SC) | Pritish Ranjan Kuar | Seuli Saha | ||
Medinipur Paschim | Shamit Dash | June Maliah (Actress) | ||
Nayagram (ST) | Bakul Murmu | Dulal Murmu | ||
Gopiballavpur | Sanjit Mahato | Dr. Khagendranath Mahato | ||
Jhargram | Sukhmoy Satpati | Birbaha Hansda | ||
Binpur (ST) | Palan Saren | Debnath Hansda | ||
Bandwan (ST) | Parsi Murmu | Rajib Lochan Saren | ||
Balarampur | Baneswar Mahato | Shantiram Mahato | ||
Baghmundi | AJSU | Sushanta Mahato | ||
Joypur | Narahari Mahto | Ujjal Kumar | ||
Purulia | Sudip Mukharjee | Sujoy Banerjee | ||
Manbazar (ST) | Gouri Singh Sardar | Sandhya Rani Tudu | ||
Kashipur | Kamalakanta Hansda | Swapan Kumar Beltharia | ||
Para (SC) | Nadia Chand Bauri | Umapada Bauri | ||
Raghunathpur (SC) | Bivekananda Bauri | Hazari Bauri | ||
Saltora (SC) | Chandana Bauri | Santosh Mondal | ||
Chhatna | Satyanarayan Mukherjee | Subhasis Batabyal | ||
Ranibandh (ST) | Khudiram Tudu | Jyotsna Mandi | ||
Raipur (ST) | Sudhangsu Hansda | Mrittunjay Murmu | ||
Taldangra | Shyamal Kumar Sarkar | Arup Chakraborty | ||
Bankura | Niladri Sekhar Dana | Sayantika Banerje (Actress) | ||
Barjora | Supriti Chatterji | Alok Mukherjee | ||
Onda | Amar Sakha | Arup Kumar Khan | ||
Bishnupur | Tanmoy Ghosh | Archita Baid | ||
Katulpur (SC) | Harkali Patihar | Sangeeta Malik | ||
Indas (SC) | Nirmal Dhara | Runu Mete | ||
Sonamukhi (SC) | Dibakar Ghourmi | Shyamal Santra | ||
Khandaghosh (SC) | Nabin Chandra Bag | |||
Bardhaman Dakshin | Khokon Das | |||
Raina (SC) | Shampa Dhara | |||
Jamalpur (SC) | Alok Kumar Majhi | |||
Monteswar | Siddiqullah Chowdhury | |||
Kalna (SC) | Deboprasad Bag | |||
Memari | Madhusudan Bhattacharya | |||
Bardhaman Uttar (SC) | Nishith Kumar Malik | |||
Bhatar | Mangobindo Adhikary | |||
Purbasthali Dakshin | Swapan Debnath | |||
Purbasthali Uttar | Tapan Chatterjee | |||
Katwa | Rabindranath Chatterjee | |||
Ketugram | Sekh Sahonawez | |||
Mangalkot | Apurba Chowdhury (Achal) | |||
Ausgram (SC) | Abhedananda Thander | |||
Galsi (SC) | Nepal Ghorui | |||
Pandabeswar | Narendratha Chakraborty | |||
Durgapur Purba | Pradip Majumdar | |||
Durgrapur Paschim | Biswanath Parial | |||
Raniganj | Tapas Banerjee | |||
Jamuria | Hareram Singh | |||
Asansol Dakshin | Sayani Ghosh (actress) | |||
Asansol Uttar | Moloy Ghatak | |||
Kulti | Ujjal Chatterjee | |||
Barabani | Bidhan Upadhyay | |||
Dubrajpur (SC) | Ashima Dhibar | |||
Suri | Bikash Roy Chowdhury | |||
Bolpur | Chandra Nath Sinha | |||
Nanoor (SC) | Bidhan Chandra Majhi | |||
Labpur | Abhijit Singha (Rana) | |||
Sainthia (SC) | Nilabati Saha | |||
Mayureswar | Abhijit Ray | |||
Rampurhat | Dr. Asish Banerjee | |||
Hansan | Ashok Kumar Chattopadhyay | |||
Nalhati | Rajendra Prasad Singh | |||
Murarai | Abdur Rahaman |