Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Sunday had released their candidates list for all the 42 Lok Sabha constituencies.
With ‘surprise’ elements the ruling party has given several new faces and has also given tickets to 11 sitting MLAs. Several sitting MPs also got tickets.
Cricketer Yusuf Pathan and former cricketer Kirti Azad have also got tickets to contest the general elections from West Bengal.
Talking to the media, Pathan said that he is ‘privileged’ that he has got a chance to serve the people of Bengal.
“TMC has given me the opportunity to speak about the people of Bengal in the Parliament and I am grateful for that,” said Pathan.
Notably, Yusuf Pathan is contesting from Baharampur against Congress state president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.
Poll analysts are of the mind that by fielding Pathan from Baharampur, the ruling party tried to indicate that in Bengal TMC is ‘walking alone’.
In Bardhhaman-Durgapur constituency former cricketer Kirti Azad is contesting from TMC.
Former MP Haji Nurul Islam replaces actor Nusrat Jahan from the Basirhat seat, which includes the strife-torn Sandeshkhali under that constituency.
Jahan was trolled several times that despite being a sitting MP she didn’t go to the area where women alleged atrocities against them by TMC leaders.
Bollywood actor Shatrughan Sinha again got ticket from Asansol, Abhishek Banerjee, TMC national secretary from Diamond Harbour, Sudip Bandhopadhyay from Kolkata (North) and Mala Roy from Kolkata (South).
After sitting MP from Jadavpur constituency Mimi Chakraborty has tendered her resignation to the party Supremo Mamata Banerjee, actor and MLA Saayoni Ghosh replaced Mimi in Jadavpur.
In Ghatal it is about the fight between two actors-turned-politicians. TMC pitched sitting MP Deepak Adhikari (DEC) against BJP’s Hiranmoy Chattopadhyay.
Arjun Singh who won the last Lok Sabha election under BJP ticket in 2019 had defected to TMC but was denied ticket.
Singh had also expressed his ‘disappointment’ after he was denied a ticket to contest the poll.
In Bishnupur TMC fields sitting BJP MPs wife Sujata mandal Khan against her husband Soumitra Khan who is again contesting under BJP ticket in 2024 elections.
Bengali actor Rachana Banerjee who joined TMC on Sunday is fielded against BJP sitting MP and an actor Locket Chatterjee in Hooghly.
Even though BJP has not announced their candidate from Tamluk constituency in Midnapur, there is a buzz that former Justice Abhijit Ganguly is likely to contest from that seat, and TMC has given Debangshu Bhattacharya ticket from that constituency.
Mahua Moitra who was expelled from the Lower House in the last session, again got ticket from the Krishnanagar constituency.
After the announcement of the candidates, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had walked the ramp with all the 42 candidates in their party programme at Kolkata's Brigade Parade Ground.
Slamming the candidates list, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said, “when BJP gave Pawan Singh ticket to contest from Asansol, then the TMC called him ‘outsider’. Now I want to ask what Yusuf Pathan, Shatrughan Sinha and Kirti Azad are?”
Check the full list of candidates below:
Cooch Behar: Jagadish Chandra Basunia
Alipurduar: Prakashchik Baraik
Jalpaiguri: Nirmal Chandra Roy
Darjeeling: Gopal Lama
Raiganj: Krishna Kalyani
Balurghat: Biplab Mitra
Maldah North: Prasun Banerjee (former IPS)
Maldah South: Shanzwaz Ali Rahman
Jangipur: Khalilur Rahman
Berhampore: Yusuf Pathan
Murshidabad: Abu Taher Khan
Krishnanagar: Mahua Moitra
Ranaghat: Mukutmani Adhikari
Bongaon: Biswajit Das
Barrackpore: Partha Bhowmik
Dum Dum: Saugata Roy
Barasat: Kakali Ghosh Dastidar
Basirhat: Haji Nurul Islam
Joynagar: Pratima Mondal
Mathurapur: Bapi Haldar
Diamond Harbour: Abhishek Banerjee
Jadavpur: Sayoni Ghosh
Calcutta South: Mala Roy
Calcutta North: Sudip Bandyopadhyay
Howrah: Prasun Banerjee
Uluberia: Sajda Ahmed
Serampore: Kalyan Bandyopadhyay
Hooghly: Rachana Banerjee
Arambagh: Mitali Bag
Tamluk: Debangshu Bhattacharya
Contai: Uttam Barik
Ghatal: Deepak Adhikari (Dev)
Jhargram: Kalipada Soren
Midnapore: June Malia
Purulia: Shantiram Mahato
Bankura: Arup Chakraborty
Bishnupur: Sujata Mondal Khan
Burdwan East: Sharmila Sarkar
Burdwan-Durgapur: Kirti Azad
Asansol: Shatrughan Sinha
Bolpur: Asit Mal
Birbhum: Satabdi Roy
