293 nominees in fray for second phase of Bengal polls
April 11th, 2011 - 12:32 am ICT by IANS
Kolkata, April 10 (IANS) Altogether 293 candidates are in the fray for the April 23 second phase of West Bengal assembly polls covering 50 constituencies in three districts, officials said. Saturday was the last day for withdrawal of nominations for these seats.
The 50 constituencies are in Murshidabad, Nadia and Birbhum districts.
The Murshidabad district with 22 assembly constituencies is considered a Congress citadel. The ruling Left Front has a few pockets of influence in the district.
The Nadia district with 17 assembly constituencies has a strong presence of the Left Front as well as the Trinamool Congress, with a few pockets of the Congress. In 2006 polls, the Left Front won most of the seats.
The Birbhum district, home to Rabindranath Tagore’s Santiniketan, has 11 assembly constituencies and is considered an impregnable fort of the Left Front.
All eyes will be on the Nalhati assembly constituency in the district where union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s son and Congress candidate Avijit Mukherjee will fight Left Front candidate Dipak Chatterjee.
The Trinamool Congress and the Congress, along with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Socialist Unity Centre of India-Communist (SUCI-C), will jointly fight the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M)-led Left Front which has been ruling the state uninterruptedly since 1977.
The SUCI-C has declared that in some places it will field candidates against the Congress.
During the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, the Trinamool Congress, the Congress and the SUCI-C fought together against the state’s ruling Left Front and bagged 26 out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
- Process for Bengal's second phase poll begins Wednesday - Mar 29, 2011
- West Bengal poll battle enters phase two Saturday (Curtain Raiser) - Apr 22, 2011
- NCP forges alliance with Trinamool, gets one seat - Mar 23, 2011
- Over 85 percent turnout in Bengal's peaceful phase two polling (Intro Roundup) - Apr 23, 2011
- Mamata names 228 candidates, leaves 64 seats for Congress - Mar 18, 2011
- Poll process begins in Bengal's six districts Thursday - Mar 23, 2011
- Polling brisk and peaceful in Bengal (Fourth Lead) - Apr 23, 2011
- People vote in large numbers in West Bengal (Third Lead) - Apr 23, 2011
- Pranab Mukherjee's son tipped to contest in West Bengal - Nov 18, 2010
- Over 80 percent turnout in phase two of Bengal polls (Roundup) - Apr 23, 2011
- Bengal polls: Third phase kicks off Saturday - Apr 01, 2011
- People vote in large numbers in West Bengal (Second Lead) - Apr 23, 2011
- Trinamool names 228 candidates, leaves 64 seats for Congress (Roundup) - Mar 19, 2011
- Long queues in round two of Bengal polls (Lead) - Apr 23, 2011
- Trinamool names 228 candidates, leaves 64 seats for Congress (Lead) - Mar 18, 2011
Tags: assembly constituencies, assembly polls, birbhum district, communist party of india, communist party of india marxist, congress candidate, dipak, lok sabha seats, murshidabad district, nadia district, nationalist congress party, pranab mukherjee, rabindranath tagore, santiniketan, socialist unity, suci, trinamool congress, union finance minister, unity centre, west bengal