Congress To Not Field Any Candidate Against Mamata Banerjee In Bhawanipore By-Poll

The Congress party has chosen not to field any candidate in the upcoming assembly by-poll from Bhawanipore from which West Bengal Chief Minister (CM) Mamata Banerjee will be contesting.

Apparently, the Congress high-command has gone against the wishes of its state unit to take this stand. The party had drawn a point blank in the polls that took place in the state earlier this year.

A report from the Times of India (TOI) even says that this decision has indicated the Congress’ broader plans ahead of the by-polls too.

It says that there are chances of the party allying with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the Lok Sabha elections of 2024. This will perhaps even strain its ties with the Left in the state, a party that it already locks horns with in Kerala.

On the other hand, the Bengal unit of the BJP has sent around six names that could be fielded against Banerjee from Bhawanipore in the forthcoming polls.

This list includes names like that of former Tripura governor Tathagata Roy, High Court lawyer Priyanka Tibrewal amongst others. The saffron party is likely to announce its candidate for the seat on Thursday.

CM Banerjee has to contest the by-polls as she had lost against BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari from Nandigram during the assembly polls.