BJP announces first list of candidates for 144 seats for Bengal Assembly polls
The Hindu
BJP reveals 144 candidates for Bengal Assembly polls, featuring Suvendu Adhikari contesting against Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday (March 16, 2026) announced its first list of 144 candidates for the Assembly election in West Bengal.
Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Suvendu Adhikari will contest from two constituencies - Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district and Bhabanipur in Kolkata. At Bhabanipur, he is likely to take on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Former State BJP president Dilip Ghosh has been nominated from Kharagpur Sadar, while former Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta has been fielded from Kolkata’s Rashbehari.
The saffron party has given tickets to 41 sitting MLAs and three former legislators and two former MPs. The list has 11 women, but no Muslim candidates.
Among the sitting MLAs, the BJP has renominated Agnimitra Pal from Asansol Dakshin (Paschim Bardhaman district), Chandana Bauri from Saltora (Bankura), Shikha Chatterjee from Dabgram-Phulbari (Jalpaiguri) and Malti Rava Roy from Tufanganj (Cooch Behar).
BJP leader and sitting MLA Shankar Ghosh is contesting again from Siliguri in Darjeeling district and actor-turned-politician Rudranil Ghosh is contesting from Shipbur in Howrah. Former Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh’s son Pawan Singh, who is also the sitting MLA of Bhatpara Assembly, is defending his seat.
Debjit Sarkar, chief spokesperson of the party in West Bengal, said that the list has 36 candidates aged below 40 years. Similarly, 72 nominees are in the 41-55 age group while 32 candidates are in the 56-70 years age bracket. Four candidates fielded by the BJP are above 70, he added.
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