The four main rivals Trinamool Congress, Left Front, Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party are competing in all the seats. Among the LF partners, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) is in action in five and the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) in one.
Among the star candidates in this phase are two union Ministers Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury (Malda South) and Deepa Dasmunsi (Raiganj), as also President Pranab Mukherjee's son Abhijit Mukherjee (Jangipur) - all nominated by the Congress.
The ruling Trinamool has given the tickets to popular Bengali band singer Soumitra Roy (Malda North) and theatre personality Arpita Ghosh (Balurghat), while Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) central committee member Md. Salim is in fray from Raiganj, where the BJP candidate is famed actor Nimu Bhaumik.
