BJP Bengal second list: Back veterans, ditch GNLF

Kolkata/Darjeeling: The Bharatiya Janata Party has released its second list of 111 candidates in Bengal, putting confidence in familiar faces – former MPs, current MLAs and veterans – while ditching its long-time ally the Gorkha National Liberation Front for three seats in the Darjeeling-Kalimpong hill district, Rohit Khanna and Roshan Gupta report. Former MPs Nisith Pramanik (Mathabhanga), Arjun Singh Noapara (Noapara), Rupa Ganguly (Sonarpur Dakshin) and Dibindu Adhikari (Egra) were inducted, while the list of eight current MLAs also includes Ashok Kirtaniya (Bongaon Uttar), Swapan Majumdar (Bongaon Dakshin) and Subrata Thakur (Gaighata). Other notable names nominated include Ritesh Tiwari (Kashipur-Belgachhia), Priyanka Tibrewal (Entally) and Sanjay Singh (Bally).

Former IPS officer Rajesh Kumar, who was appointed as Kolkata police chief for 50 days by the Election Commission during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, secured Jagatdal ticket. The 1990-batch officer retired as principal secretary in the Department of Popular Education and Library Services.The BJP’s second list has 14 women, taking the total to 25 now. Rekha Patra, the face of the BJP’s Sandeshkhali agitation against arrested and suspended Trinamool strongman Sheikh Shahjahan, will contest from Hingalganj.In the hills, potential candidates from the ally Nepal National Liberation Front were not fielded in any of the three constituencies of Darjeeling, Kushion and Kalimpong. The party founded by Subhash Ghisingh was a member of the NDP for a decade but was later expelled by the Election Commission, leaving its aspiring candidates dependent on the BJP. GNLF general secretary Neeraj Zimba won from Darjeeling as the BJP candidate in the 2021 polls. Earlier, he won the 2019 Lotus symbol polls.The BJP nominated former India hockey captain Bharat Chetri to represent Kalimpong and installed GNLF rival Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in Darjeeling, fielding its youth central general secretary Noman Rai. The Kurseong ticket was given to Sonam Lama, the local BJP president.GNLF central group spokesperson Y Lama said his party was not even consulted. “Our central committee will decide on the future course of action.”Kharagpur Sadar MLA Hiran Chattopadhyay’s seat has been allotted to former state unit chief Dilip Ghosh and has been posted to Shyampur. Tapas Roy, who won Maniktala on a Trinamool ticket in 2021 and defected to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) before losing from Kolkata North in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, has been fielded in his old constituency. Roopa Ganguly has been introduced from Sonarpur Dakshin.On the Kurmi side, the PPP has decided to support independent candidate Biswajit Mahato from Puruliyajoipur. In the first list, the party nominated former Kurmi Samaj state president Rajesh Mahato from Gopibalavpur. Rajesh and Ajit have been pushing for ST status for the Kurmi community and inclusion of Kurmali in the Eighth Schedule.