The BJP’s plan to launch an early campaign for the Lok Sabha elections in Bengal has suffered a setback in 23 constituencies due to the delay in announcing candidates, especially six seats where the party had won in 2019.
Till now BJP has announced candidates for 19 out of 42 seats in the state. Trinamool Congress announced the names of all 42 candidates.
A section of BJP leaders in both North and South Bengal, dissatisfied with the delay, said the party was lagging behind Trinamool in campaigning in 23 constituencies.
“Trinamool has already announced candidates on all 42 seats and has started campaigning in full swing. While our colleagues in nearby districts like Bankura and Purulia are busy campaigning with their candidates, we are just waiting to know the names of our candidates,” said a BJP leader in Jhargram, one of the 18 seats in Bengal. Where BJP won in 2019.
On March 2, BJP announced candidates for 20 Lok Sabha seats. However, the party withdrew its candidate from Asansol, Pawan Singh – a Bhojpuri singer and actor – within 24 hours of the announcement due to Trinamool’s allegations against him over his misogynistic statements and indecent references to Bengali women in his songs.
According to a senior BJP leader, the party had planned to announce candidates for all 42 constituencies as part of its aim to start the campaign in the state early. Union Home Minister Amit Shah had set a target of 35 seats in Bengal. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked BJP leaders in Bengal to focus on all 42 seats in the state.
A source said the most embarrassing thing for the BJP was the delay in announcing the names of candidates on six seats – Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, Raiganj, Jhargram, Burdwan-Durgapur and Barrackpur – where the BJP had sitting MPs.
A section of BJP leaders and workers and its allies like the GNLF in the Darjeeling Hills are dissatisfied with the delay in announcing candidates for three Lok Sabha seats in North Bengal.
“People of Darjeeling hills and Terai are angry because BJP has not been able to announce the candidate for Darjeeling parliamentary seat. They are also in a state of confusion. We demand that sitting Darjeeling BJP MP Raju Bista be given the ticket as we are satisfied with his work for the area,” said Sandeep Limbu, youth leader of GNLF.
A BJP leader said the party had not announced the names of candidates for 20 seats as there were many options. He cited the example of the party’s Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh, who joined Trinamool in 2022 and held the BJP flag again in New Delhi on Friday. If nothing changes in the last hours, BJP will field Singh again from Barrackpore.
Diendu Adhikari, younger brother of current Tamluk MP and opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari, also joined the BJP along with Singh.
“Singh agreed to contest the elections on a BJP ticket only after he was denied nomination by Trinamool. Although we were looking for a fresh face, the truth is that Singh is the best choice. Now, the Barrackpur issue has been resolved,” the leader said.
He has claimed that two names for the Darjeeling seat – former Foreign Secretary H.V. Shringla and current MP Raju Bista have come forward. “The party has put things right on most of the 23 seats,” he said. The candidates will be announced very soon – by Saturday or Sunday,” he said.
He said, “We have won Raiganj, Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri seats with a good margin. Then, why is the party delaying in announcing the names? Even if we had lost those seats in 2019, there is some justification for the delay. Interestingly, the candidate has been announced for Malda South, which is the only seat in North Bengal where we lost last time,” said a BJP functionary in Jalpaiguri.
A BJP leader in Hooghly said he was upset that the party has not yet announced a candidate for Arambagh, which the saffron camp considers a “sure seat”.
“The party will soon announce candidates for all 23 seats. The delay in announcing the candidates will have no impact as the people of Bengal are ready to vote for us,” said BJP Rajya Sabha member and chief spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya.
