Former Sandeshkhali MLA among 5 new Left Front LS candidates announced in Bengal
Kolkata, April 5 (IANS) The CPI-M-led Left Front in West Bengal on Friday announced candidates for five more constituencies in West Bengal for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls, including the key Basirhat seat under which the Sandeshkhali area falls.
The Basirhat Parliamentary constituency in North 24 Parganas district comprises seven Assembly constituencies, including Sandeshkhali.
While the BJP has fielded Rekha Patra, the face of the movement by local women at Sandeshkhali against their sexual harassment by a section of the local Trinamool Congress leaders, the CPI-M has filed former Sandeshkhali legislator Nirapada Sardar.
Like Patra, Sardar also came to the national limelight for organising the local people against the accused Trinamool leaders in Sandeshkhali and was arrested also.
While the Basirhat seat used to be allotted to the CPI, the Left Front, considering the popularity of Sardar in the post-Sandeshkhali scenario, thought it wise to field him from Basirhat and the CPI agreed to forego it.
The Trinamool Congress has fielded Haji Nurul Islam, who was MP from the constituency between 2009 to 2014. The seat was held by actor-turned-politician Nusrat Jahan, who declined to contest again.
Left Front Chairman Biman Bose also announced the name of youth CPI-M leader Pratik Ur Rahaman as the candidate from Diamond Harbour constituency in South 25 Parganas district, where the sitting MP is Trinamool General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee. The BJP is yet to announce its candidate from that constituency.
Actor-turned-politician Debdut Ghosh is the CPI-M candidate from the Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency in North 24 Parganas district. He was fielded by the party from the Tollygunge Assembly constituency in Kolkata in the 2021 polls but was defeated.
All India Forward Bloc's Probir Ghosh has been fielded from Barasat constituency in North 24 Parganas district, and CPI's Tapan Gangopadhyay from Ghatal in West Midnapore district.