Bengal Polls: BJP releases candidate list; Babul Supriyo, TMC turncoat Rajib Banerjee in fray

New Delhi, Mar 14: BJP on Sunday announced names of 27 candidates for the third phase of election and 38 candidates for the fourth phase, for the poll-bound West Bengal.

"We are announcing the names of 27 candidates for the third phase and 38 candidates for the fourth phase of polls in West Bengal. Economist Ashok Lahiri will contest from Alipurduar, and Rabindranath Bhattacharya from Singur," said BJP National General Secretary Arun Singh.

The BJP has fielded former chief economic adviser to the government Ashok Lahiri from the Alipurduar seat, Union Minister Babul Supriyo from Tollygunge, and Swapan Dasgupta from the Tarakeshwar Assembly segment.

Actor-turned-politician and sitting MP Locket Chatterjee has been fielded from Chunchura and another MP Nishit Parmanik from Dinhata.

Outgoing MLA of Singur and veteran leader Rabindranath Bhattacharya, who had crossed over from the Trinamool Congress after it denied him ticket, has been fielded from the same seat by the BJP.

Besides Chatterjee, the party has given ticket to several Bengali film personalities, including Tanushree Chakraborty from Shyampur, Payal Sarkar from Behala Purba and actor Yash Dasgupta from Chanditala in Kolkata.

In allocating tickets in West Bengal, the BJP has expanded its candidature beyond film personalities by nominating former Chief Economic Advisor Ashok Lahiri from Alipurduar.

Lahiri has also served as chairman of the Kolkata-based Bandhan Bank and was member of the Finance Commission from 2017 to 2020.

By fielding coloumnist Dasgupta and the economist Lahiri, the BJP has sought to impress the ''Bhadralok'' sensibilities in the eastern state, political observers said, noting the Bengali intelligentsia had generally refrained from the backing the saffron party in 2019 Lok Sabha polls despite a large consolidation of Hindu votes around it.