West Bengal Polls: Congress List of 284 Candidates Out, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Fielded from Baharampur

Kolkata: Ahead of the highly-anticipated West Bengal polls, the Congress has released its first list of 284 candidates. Former West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has been fielded from Baharampur, while Mausam Noor will be contesting from Malatipur.

The Congress which had been a partner with the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, has usually remained rivals at the state level. The Congress leadership in the state has been a vocal critic of the TMC, and has voiced its concern on several issues against the state government on several occasions.

The Congress was earlier allied with the Left in the West Bengal elections, however, this time it has chosen to contest solo.

The party's electoral prospects in the state has been dwindling in recent years. In the 2021 Assembly elections, the grand old party won just one seat, and secured only 1.6% of the votes. The party had also won only one seat in the 2016, and had secured 2.2% of the votes.

The Lok Sabha election was not much promising for the Congress either. In the 2024 General Elections, it had won only one seat and secured 4.7% of the votes. In the 2019 elections, it had won two seats and 5.7% of the votes.

When is Bengal Going to Polls

West Bengal will be voting in two phases, with the first phase scheduled on April 23 and the second phase on April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 4.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) said that the first phase covering 152 Assembly constituencies will begin with the issuance of the gazette notification on March 30. The last date for filing nominations for this phase is April 6, while scrutiny of nominations will take place on April 7. Candidates will be allowed to withdraw their nominations until April 9. 

Polling for the first phase will be held on April 23.For the second phase, which covers 142 Assembly constituencies, the gazette notification will be issued on April 2. The last date for filing nominations is April 9, and scrutiny will take place on April 10. Candidates can withdraw their nominations until April 13. Voting for this phase is scheduled for April 29.

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