Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has announced candidates’ list for her party in the Lok Sabha elections, to be held in the state between April 17 and May 12. While Mamata sprung a number of surprises, the Left Front also pulled a few while announcing its list on Wednesday.
From Dev, the reigning matinee idol of Bengali cinema, to Moonmoon Sen and a handful of other celebrities, the Trinamool chief kept her list as interesting as it comes. Banerjee also took her first steps towards being a national party with candidates from two other states, Manipur and Tripura.
The Left tried to keep it fresh with 26 new faces, including party’s former MP from Kanpur, Subhasini Ali, who will be on her debut run from Bengal.
Banerjee said Trinamool is fielding 11 women candidates and seven candidates from minority communities. While speculation has been rife, the coming on board of prominent names like footballer Bhaichung Bhutia, Dev and Moonmoon were surprises that were kept under wraps till the last moment.
The former Indian soccer skipper will contest from Darjeeling, virtually sealing the deal for Trinamool. Harvard University professor Sugato Basu, grand nephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, replaced suspended party MP Kabir Suman at the prominent Jadavpur constituency.
Mamata said “candidates from all walks of life” have been given proper representation in Bengal.
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