BJP's First List Of 144 Candidates for Bengal Out: Suvendu Adhikari to Take on Mamata in Nandigram & Bhabanipur

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today released a list of 144 candidates for the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections. As per the list, Suvendu Adhikary, who leads BJP in the state of West Bengal will go head-to-head with the current CM Mamata Banerjee from two seats including Nandigram and Bhabanipur. Other big names include Dilip Kumar Ghosh from Bolpur, former Rajya Sabha member Swapan Dasgupta from Rashbehari, and Agnimitra Paul from Asansol Dakshin.  In addition to that, out of 144 seats for which the candidacy have been declared, women candidates are contesting from 11. 

The list comes a day after Election Commision annonced the date for the polls which are scheduled on April 23rd and 29th. The counting of the votes will take place on May 4th.

2026 Assembly Election Schedule Overview
On Sunday, March 15, 2026, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the poll schedule for Assembly elections in four states—Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal—and the Union Territory of Puducherry. The announcement, made by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, confirmed that polling will take place throughout April, with the results for all regions set to be declared on May 4, 2026. According to the official schedule, Assam, Kerala, and Puducherry will head to the polls in a single phase on April 9. Tamil Nadu will also hold single-phase polling on April 23. In contrast, West Bengal will conduct its election in two phase. The announcement has triggered the immediate implementation of the Model Code of Conduct across all these regions.