In a bid to fight it out with the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal in the general elections, the CPM has decided to field its old guards and even shifted former MP Suhasini Ali from Kanpur to Barrackpur.
Veteran CPM leader and a nine-time MP Basudeb Acharia, who almost bid farewell to Parliament on the last day of the 15th Lok Sabha, has been re-nominated by the party to contest from Bankura in West Bengal.
Former state Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta, former MPs Mohd Salim and Sujan Chakraborty would also contest the general elections from West Bengal as per the list of candidates announced by the CPM on Friday. Asim Dasgupta will contest from Dum Dum. Muslim candidates dominate the list of 32 candidates.
The CPM candidates from West Bengal include Mahendra Kumar Roy (Jalpaiguri-SC), Saman Pathak (Darjeeling), Khagen Murmu (Maldaha Uttar), Abul Hasnat Khan (Maldaha Dakshin), Muzaffar Hossain (Jangipur), Badarudzza Khan (Murshidabad) and Santanu Jha (Krishnagar).
The list also has the names of Archana Biswas (Ranaghat), Debesh Das (Bangaon), Rinku Naskar (Mathurapur-SC).