Cricketer turned politician Yusuf Pathan will take on Congress’ Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from Baharampur
KOLKATA, March 10: The TMC on Sunday ended speculations of a possible seat adjustment with the Congress in Bengal by unveiling its candidate list for all 42 Lok Sabha seats, marking a significant overhaul by replacing seven sitting MPs and introducing several new faces, including former cricketer Yusuf Pathan.
The Trinamool Congress maintained a harmonious blend of experienced leaders and fresh talent, amid the alleged power tussle between the old guards and the next-gen leaders.
Facing political heat over the incidents in Sandeshkhali, where allegations of sexual abuse against TMC leaders surfaced, the party brought in former MP Haji Nurul Islam replacing actor Nusrat Jahan in the Basirhat Lok Sabha seat, where the trouble-torn area is situated.
While 16 of 23 sitting MPs were retained, the TMC opted not to re-nominate seven incumbents and notably excluded BJP defector Arjun Singh from Barrackpore, who joined the TMC two years ago.
Among the new faces are 12 women candidates. Additionally, out of the 26 new candidates, 11 are entirely new to the political arena.
Additionally, a Rajya Sabha MP and nine MLAs, including two state ministers Partha Bhowmick and Biplab Mitra, have been thrust into the Lok Sabha battle.
Addressing a rally at Brigade Parade Grounds here, Banerjee announced the party would contest the polls in Bengal “alone”.
“We will contest the Lok Sabha polls in Bengal alone and will fight the Congress, BJP, and the CPI(M). We will also contest in Assam and Meghalaya. We are in talks with Akhilesh Yadav (of SP) for contesting one seat in UP,” she said.
While speaking about bringing in fresh faces and dropping sitting MPs, the TMC supremo said, “I have fielded candidates, some people were dropped. Those who have not been re-nominated will be accommodated during the assembly polls.”
Former cricketer Yusuf Pathan has been nominated from Baharampur, historically a stronghold of state Congress chief and five-term MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.
Mahua Moitra, who was expelled from the Lok Sabha last year in cash for a query case, has been reaffirmed as the party’s candidate from Krishnanagar.
Film star-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha, who won the Asansol seat in a bypoll on a TMC ticket in 2022, has been re-nominated.
Kirti Azad, a former cricketer and party leader, has been nominated from Bardhaman-Durgapur constituency, previously lost to the BJP in 2019.
Notably, among the nine MLAs nominated for the polls, BJP defectors Biswajit Das and Mukutmani Adhikari will contest from Bongaon and Ranaghat, strongholds of the Matua community, which the TMC lost to the BJP in 2019.
Another BJP defector Krishna Kalyani, will be contesting from Raiganj seat in North Bengal, bagged by the BJP in 2019.
Party’s Rajya Sabha MP Prakash Chik Baraik will take on Union minister and BJP MP Nisith Pramanik from Cooch Behar.
Interestingly, the party has replaced candidates in all the eight seats in North Bengal, which it lost to the BJP and the Congress in 2019.
The party has also introduced fresh faces like Saayoni Ghosh, Debangshu Bhattacharya, Gopal Lama, MLA June Maliah, Bapi Haldar, and actress Rachana Banerjee from the seats of Jadavpur, Tamluk, a stronghold of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, Darjeeling and Medinipur. (PTI)