The BJP on Saturday released a list of 20 candidates out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal. The saffron party axed one sitting MP in its north Bengal stronghold, elevating three MLAs and roping in a Bhojpuri singer from Bihar, who will join the Lok Sabha poll fray in 2024. Among the candidates, three are women, including one sitting MP and an MLA.
West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar, union ministers Nisith Pramanik and Shantanu Thakur and Soumendu Adhikari, the brother of Suvendu Adhikari are among the 195 candidates who featured in the first list of nominees announced by the BJP for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
The saffron camp is yet to announce the names of three candidates in north Bengal from where the party had bagged seven seats out of eight in the previous general elections.
Sources in the party said that nine of the sitting MPs, in the first list of candidates, would be fielded in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections while Alipurduar MP Joh Barla was axed from the list because leadership was not happy with his performance.
The BJP decided to field Bhojpuri actor Pawan Singh in Asansol as the constituency has a considerable chunk of Hindi-speaking electorates.
“The party secured victory in two consecutive terms from 2014 but lost in the by-election which was necessitated after former Union minister Babul Supriya, who was elected from the constituency, joined the TMC. The TMC had fielded actor Shatrughan Sinha, who hailed from Bihar, in the by-election which proved to be effective. So, the nomination of Singh will be a smart move if the TMC fields Sinha again,” said a BJP leader.
Key BJP candidates announced in first list
Sukanta Majumdar (Balurghat)
Nisith Pramanik (Cooch Behar)
Manoj Tigga (Alipurduars)
Locket Chatterjee (Hooghly)
Shantanu Thakur (Bongaon (SC))
Soumendu Adhikari (Kanthi)
Pawan Singh (Asansol)
