BJP announces Bengal by-election candidates–Kalyan Chaubey becomes a ‘Bhattacharya’
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has reaffirmed its faith in Kalyan Chaubey by renominating him for the upcoming Maniktala assembly by-election. Although it has been noticed that the All India Football Federation (AIFF) chief has tried to ‘Bengalify’ his name by adding a ‘Bhattacharya’ at its rear.
Scheduled for July 10, this by-election is crucial for BJP as the party introduces fresh candidates in the three other constituencies heading for elections on the same date.
The Maniktala seat has remained unoccupied following the death of former minister Sadhan Pande in 2022. The election date announcement faced delays due to a petition filed by Chaubey, who narrowly lost to Pande in the 2021 assembly elections. The by-election was only confirmed after Chaubey retracted his petition from the Calcutta High Court.
Representing the Trinamool Congress, Supti Pande, widow of the late minister, will be Chaubey’s main opponent in Maniktala.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Trinamool Congress held a slim lead of 3,000 votes over BJP in the Maniktala assembly segment.
For the Ranaghat Dakshin seat, Manoj Biswas, BJP’s state secretary, will contest against Mukut Mani Adhikari, a former BJP MLA from the same seat who switched over to Trinamool earlier this year.
In Bagda, Binay Biswas of the BJP will face off against Madhuparna Thakur, daughter of Trinamool’s Rajya Sabha MP Mamata Bala Thakur.
Notably, the BJP had a significant lead of 20,000 votes over Trinamool in Bagda during the last Lok Sabha elections (for the Bangaon parliamentary constituency).
In Raiganj, the BJP’s candidate Manas Ghosh, a primary teacher who defected from Trinamool to the BJP in 2023, will compete against Trinamool’s Krishna Kalyani, who won the seat in 2021 on a BJP ticket before defecting to Trinamool.
Stay tuned for more updates on these pivotal by-elections.
