BJP sets tone for ‘Khela Hobe’ 2.0, announces 20 faces in first Lok Sabha poll list for Mamata bastion Bengal

BJP Lok Sabha candidates list: In 2019, the BJP had bagged 18 out of 42 seats in West Bengal.

Published on: Mar 2, 2024, 21:45:07 IST

By HT News Desk | Written by Aryan Prakash

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday announced 20 out of 42 candidates for the Lok Sabha election in Mamata Banerjee-ruled West Bengal, a state where it registered its best ever electoral performances at national and state level recently.

The candidates for the eastern state were announced in wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mega development push in the Trinamool Congress bastion. The saffron party, aiming to surpass its 2019 tally of 18 seats, has fielded its state president Sukanta Majumdar along with two Union ministers Nisith Pramanik and Shantanu Thakur for the general elections.

ALSO READ: BJP 1st list for Lok Sabha: Narendra Modi from Varanasi, Amit Shah from Gandhinagar

“In the 20 seats that have been announced, there are leaders from all levels of society. All BJP workers will contest the elections together and will gift more seats to Prime Minister Narendra Modi from here (West Bengal) than before,” Majumdar, who is contesting from Balurghat once again, told ANI.

Union minister Nisith Pramanik, currently a minister of state for home, youth affairs and sports, is contesting from Cooch Behar. The 38-year-old leader from North Bengal, Pramanik jumped ship from the TMC to the BJP in 2019 and defeated his former party's candidate Paresh Adhikary by over 54,000 votes.

ALSO READ: Lok Sabha elections 2024 ground report: In North Bengal, saffron flags are all over, but what about the votes?

Another Union minister in poll fray is Shantanu Thakur, a prominent leader from Matua community. A vocal supporter of the Citizenship Amendment Act, the BJP candidate from Bongaon is currently the Union minister of state for the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the inauguration and foundation stone-laying of various projects at Arambagh in Hooghly, West Bengal on Friday. (ANI)

Once a Left bastion for 34 years before Mamata Banerjee came to power, Bengal has been a state where the BJP has invested in, especially since 2014. Last April, Union home minister Amit Shah at a rally in Birbhum had set a target of winning 35 seats in the state.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had won two seats when Modi was voted to power for the first time. Five years later, the saffron party bagged 18 seats. The BJP registered its best electoral performance in the 2021 assembly elections, winning 77 seats.

The BJP has left no stone unturned to corner Mamata Banerjee over several issues, the latest being the episode in Sandeshkhali village. Prime Minister Modi hit out at the Bengal CM over Sheikh Shahjahan, the TMC leader accused of sexual assault, who was finally arrested ahead of his visit to the state.

“The country is seeing what Trinamool Congress has done with the sisters of Sandeshkhali. The whole country is angry. The soul of Raja Ram Mohan Roy must have been pained by what happened in Sandeshkhali...the party was protecting the TMC leader and the police had to arrest him yesterday after the BJP leaders exerted pressure on the government,” the prime minister said in Hooghly on Friday.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
HT News Desk
Follow the latest breaking news, major developments and agenda-setting stories from India and around the world with the newsdesk at Hindustan Times. Operating round the clock, the desk brings together experienced editors, reporters and correspondents to deliver fast, accurate and contextual reporting across subjects that influence public policy, governance, business, society and international affairs. The HT News Desk covers politics, elections, government policies, the economy, business and markets, science and technology, the environment, law and order, infrastructure, education, climate issues and geopolitics, while closely tracking developments across states, institutions and global capitals. The team also leads coverage of major breaking news events, policy announcements, court proceedings, natural disasters, public emergencies and significant international developments. Reports published by the newsdesk are based on information gathered from reporters on the ground, official statements, government agencies, court records, regulatory filings, recognised institutions and other authoritative sources. Stories undergo editorial scrutiny and verification processes to ensure accuracy, fairness and relevance, and are updated as events evolve and additional information becomes available. Whether covering a key political decision in New Delhi, an economic policy shift affecting millions, a landmark court ruling or a major global event, the HT News Desk aims to provide readers with reliable, fact-based journalism that delivers not only the latest developments but also the context and analysis needed to understand their wider implications.Read More

Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather and major national developments.