89 contestants in the fray for third phase LS polls in Bengal

Kolkata, Apr 10: Altogether 89 contestants remained in the fray for the third phase Lok Sabha elections on April 30 in

after scrutiny of nominations, Election Commission officials said here today.

Nine Lok Sabha constituencies -- Howrah, Uluberia, Serampore, Hooghly, Arambagh, Burdwan-Durgapur, Burdwan (East), Bolpur and Birbhum -- are going to the polls in the third phase.

"Two nominations were cancelled in Howrah LS constituency bringing down the total number of contestants from 19 to 17 for the seat after scrutiny was over," OSD in CEO's office Amit Roy Chowdhury said.

The candidates who have filed nominations from nine Lok Sabha constituencies for the April 30 polls are 17 from Howrah, 13 from Uluberia, 11 from Birbhum, 10 from Serampore, nine each from Hooghly and Burdwan (East), eight from Burdwan-Durgapur, seven from Bolpur and five from Arambagh.

The four parliamentary seats - Coochbehar, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling - which will go to the polls on April 17 in the first phase, have 47 contestants. The six parliamentary seats of Raiganj, Balurghat, Malda (North), Malda (South), Jangipur and Murshidabad, which are going to the polls on April 24 in the second phase, have altogether 78 contestants.

PTI