Bengal polls: Congress announces candidates for 284 of 294 Assembly seats
Kolkata, March 29
All India Congress Committee on Sunday announced party candidates for 284 of the 294 Assembly constituencies in West Bengal, which will vote in two phases next month.
As expected, the party has nominated the former state Congress president in West Bengal and five-time party Lok Sabha member, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, from the Baharampur Assembly constituency in his native district of Murshidabad.
The former Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member, Mausam Benazir Noor, who had recently returned to Congress, had been nominated as the party candidate from Malatipur Assembly constituency in her native district of Malda.
Ali Imran Ramz, aka Victor, who had been recently accused of domestic violence by his estranged wife, has been fielded from Chakulia Assembly constituency in north Dinajpur.
Victor was a two-time All India Forward Bloc legislator from Chakulia, first from 2011 to 2016 and then from 2016 to 2021. However, he was defeated in the 2021 Assembly elections.
He joined Congress before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and also became a party candidate from the Raiganj Lok Sabha elections. However, he lost.
Rohon Mitra, the son of former state Congress president in West Bengal, late Somendra Nath Mitra, has been nominated from Ballygunge Assembly constituency in South Kolkata.
Congress and Left Front started contesting with a seat-sharing agreement since the 2016 West Bengal Assembly elections, which continued till the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. In 2021, neither Congress nor the Left Front could send a single representative to the state Assembly.
However, this time, the Congress decided to sever ties with the Left Front and instead contest independently from all the 294 Assembly constituencies, and on Sunday, they announced candidates for 284 Assembly constituencies.
At the time the report was filed, there was no indication from the Congress leadership on when the candidates for the remaining 10 Assembly constituencies would be announced.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Fielding someone like Ali Imran Ramz (Victor) with serious domestic violence allegations is disappointing. Congress should have higher standards for candidates. This sends a terrible message to women voters. 👎
Good to see Mausam Benazir Noor back in Congress fold from Malda. She has a strong base there. But contesting all 294 seats alone seems like political suicide. They should have tried for a Mahagathbandhan with other smaller parties.
Interesting strategy. After the 2021 washout, they have nothing to lose. Maybe fighting independently will help them rebuild their own brand in the state instead of being a junior partner. But it's a very steep climb.
Adhir da from Baharampur is a given. He's their only stronghold. But nominating Rohon Mitra in Ballygunge just because he's his father's son? That's old-style dynasty politics. Where is the new, young leadership? 🤔
As a Bengali, I just want a stable government that focuses on development. The constant musical chairs of alliances and switching parties by leaders is exhausting. Hope the voters choose wisely this time.
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