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BJP Shakes Up Bengal Polls: 4th Candidate List Drops Veteran, Fields New Faces

The Bharatiya Janata Party has announced its fourth list of candidates for the West Bengal Assembly elections, introducing 13 new names and changing its candidate for the Maynaguri seat. The list sees the party dropping veteran legislator Mihir Goswami from the Natabari constituency, replacing him with recent BJP entrant Girija Shankar Roy. Notable candidates include former IPS officer Debashis Dhar, journalist YouTuber Manav Guha, and Soma Thakur, wife of Union Minister Santanu Thakur. The party is yet to announce candidates for six remaining constituencies as discussions continue.

Key Points: BJP's 4th Bengal Poll List: Candidate Changes & New Entries

  • BJP releases 4th candidate list for Bengal polls
  • Veteran Mihir Goswami dropped from Natabari
  • Ex-IPS officer Debashis Dhar fielded from Sonarpur
  • Journalist-turned-politicians among new candidates
2 min read

Bengal elections: BJP announces 4th list; changes candidate for Maynaguri seat

BJP releases 4th candidate list for Bengal polls, drops Mihir Goswami, fields ex-IPS officers, journalists, and political newcomers in key seats.

"Outgoing and veteran legislator Mihir Goswami has been dropped from the Natabari constituency. - Report"

Kolkata, March 31

The Bharatiya Janata Party, on Tuesday, released its fourth list of party candidates for the upcoming two-phase Assembly elections in West Bengal.

A total of 13 new names are in the fourth list. Apart from that, the BJP had also changed the party candidate from the Maynaguri Assembly constituency in Jalpaiguri district, and the name of the changed candidate is also mentioned there.

After announcing candidates for 13 seats on Tuesday, the names of candidates for six more seats are yet to be announced. The BJP is still discussing the names of the probable candidates for these six Assembly constituencies.

It can be seen from this list that outgoing and veteran legislator Mihir Goswami has been dropped from the Natabari constituency in the Cooch Behar district. Girija Shankar Roy, who recently joined the BJP, has been fielded from that constituency.

Similarly, former Congress councillor in Kolkata Municipal Corporation, Santosh Pathak, who recently left the Congress and joined the BJP, has been fielded from Chowringhee constituency in North Kolkata.

The list includes former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Debashis Dhar, who had been fielded from Sonarpur (Uttar) constituency in South 24 Parganas district. Journalist-cum-Youtuber, Manav Guha, has been fielded from the Memari constituency in East Burdwan district.

Dhar is the second former IPS officer whom the BJP had fielded as a candidate, the first being Dr Rajesh Kumar, the former Kolkata Police Commissioner, who was earlier fielded from Jagatdal Assembly constituency in North 24 Parganas district.

Guha is the third journalist-turned-politician to be fielded by the BJP for the West Bengal Assembly polls, this time, the other two being Jagannath Chattopadhyay from Suri Assembly constituency in Birbhum district and Santu Pan from Tarakeswar Assembly seat in Hooghly district. Chattopadhyay is also the state vice-president of the BJP in West Bengal.

Soma Thakur, wife of two-time party Lok Sabha member and the Union Minister of State, Santanu Thakur, had been fielded from Bagda Assembly constituency in North 24 Parganas district.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

P
Priya S
Dropping veteran Mihir Goswami is a bold move. It seems the party is prioritizing new faces and turncoats from other parties over its own sitting MLAs. Hope this doesn't backfire and create resentment among the old guard.
R
Rohit P
The candidate for Maynaguri changed at the last minute? This kind of internal confusion and ticket distribution drama is not a good look just before elections. Voters need stability, not musical chairs with candidates. 🤔
A
Ananya R
Fielding Soma Thakur, the wife of a Union Minister, from Bagda... feels like dynasty politics, which BJP often criticizes in other parties. A bit hypocritical, no? We should judge candidates on merit, not family connections.
V
Vikram M
Good to see professionals like ex-IPS Debashis Dhar and journalist Manav Guha getting tickets. Bengal needs administrators and communicators, not just career politicians. Hope they can deliver development if elected! 👍
K
Kavya N
So many last-minute joiners from Congress and TMC getting tickets. What about loyal BJP karyakartas who have worked for years? This "parachute candidate" culture is demoralizing for the party's grassroots workers.

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