BJP releases second list of 111 candidates for West Bengal Assembly polls

Polling in the state will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29, with counting of votes for both phases scheduled for May 4.

As per the released list, Nisith Pramanik will contest from Mathabhanga, Shankar Adhikari from Chopra, Koustav Bagchi from Barrackpur, Arup Choudhury from Kamarhati and Rekha Patra from Hingalganj.

While Roopa Ganguly will contest from Sonarpur Dakshin, Priyanka Tibrewal is set to run from Entally and Tapas Roy from Maniktala.

In the previous and first list of 144 candidates released earlier by the BJP for the elections, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari is set to contest from Nandigram, where he defeated Mamata Banerjee in 2021, and from Bhabanipur, the constituency currently held by the TMC chief.

BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul will contest from Asansol Dakshin, actor-turned-politician Rudranil Ghosh is set to run from Shibpur, and BJP MLA Bankim Chandra Ghosh will contest from Chakdaha.

As per the Election Commission of India (ECI), the first phase covering 152 Assembly constituencies will begin with the issuance of the gazette notification on March 30, 2026. The last date for filing nominations for this phase is April 6, while scrutiny of nominations will take place on April 7. Candidates will be allowed to withdraw their nominations until April 9. Polling for the first phase will be held on April 23.

For the second phase, which covers 142 Assembly constituencies, the gazette notification will be issued on April 2, 2026. The last date for filing nominations is April 9, and the scrutiny of nominations will take place on April 10. Candidates can withdraw their nominations until April 13. Voting for this phase is scheduled for April 29.

West Bengal has a total of 6,45,61,152 electors as per the Election Commission of India, including 6,44,52,609 general electors and 1,08,543 service voters. The state has 5,23,229 young electors aged 18-19 years. (ANI)