BJP announces 11 more candidates for Bengal polls, changes nominees in two seats

Kolkata, Mar 23: The BJP on Tuesday announced another list of candidates for 11 seats for the assembly elections in West Bengal and also changed its nominees in two other constituencies.

The party continued with its strategy of fielding personalities from different walks of life as it nominated former Deputy Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen (retd) Subrata Saha from the Rashbehari seat in South Kolkata.

Former Chief Economic Advisor Ashok Lahiri, who was earlier pulled out from the Alipurduar seat in north Bengal after local party workers held a protest against his candidature, will now contest from Balurghat as a BJP candidate.

Lahiri was replaced with local leader Suman Kanjilal from the Alipurduar seat last week.

The saffron party also fielded new candidates from Chowranghee and Kashipur-Belgachia seats, after its earlier nominees had refused their tickets.

Nominations were given to Sikha Mitra, wife of former state Congress president Somen Mitra, from Chowranghee and Tarun Saha, husband of TMC MLA Mala Saha, from Kashipur- Belgachia.

In an embarrassment for the BJP, both Sikha Mitra and Tarun Saha had refused their tickets and said they did not join the party.

The BJP has been facing protests and resignations as many of its aspiring old-timers did not find their names in the list of candidates.

Despite protests over recruits getting more importance than old-timers in the candidates'' list, the party gave a nomination to Biswajit Das, who was a TMC MLA from Bongaon (Uttar) and had joined the BJP some time ago.

Das will contest from Bagda constituency as a BJP candidate.

Subrata Thakur, brother of BJP MP Santanu Thakur, was given a nomination from Gaighata.