TMC, Left declare candidates for Assembly byelections

The Trinamool Congress (TMC), Left Front and Congress on Thursday announced their candidates for the upcoming Assembly by-elections in West Bengal. While TMC declared candidates for all the three poll-bound Assembly constituencies the Left Front declared candidate for only one Assembly seat and left the remaining two Congress.

The by-elections will be held on November 25 in the Kharagpur Sadar Assembly seat in West Medinipur district, Kaliaganj in North Dinajpur district and Karimpur in Nadia district.

Speaking to journalists TMC secretary-general Partha Chatterjee said that his party will field Pradip Sarkar from Kharagpur Sadar, Bimalendu Singha Roy from Karimpur and Tapan Deb Singha from Kaliaganj.

“The people of Bengal are with us, WE are confident of winning all the three Assembly seats,” said Chatterjee.

Earlier in the day Left Front chairperson Biman Basu announced that Golam Rabbi, a lawyer by profession, from CPI(M), will be the Left Front candidate from Karimpur Assembly seat. Congress will support Rabbi due to its alliance with the Left Front.

Congress in a statement later in the day announced that they have sent the names of Dhitasri Roy for Kaliaganj and Chittaranjan Mondal for Kharagpur for approval to the party high command.

Meanwhile, West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar said that the by-elections in Bengal must be free of the violence which will erase the memory of violence during the Lok Sabha elections.

“ The Assembly byelections must be free of violence. The last Lok Sabha elections created a different impression (of Bengal) which must be changed,” the Governor told reporters on the sidelines of an event in the city.

Dhankhar also said that he was hopeful that the by-elections will be peaceful and the world will see that the “most peaceful elections” are held in Bengal.

“He (the Governor) also adverted that in the coming by-elections in the State would be held in a peaceful manner free from violence and the voters will fearlessly exercise their right to franchise. This will demonstrate to the whole nation that what happened in the Lok Sabha elections 2019, which were marred by violence, a matter of past,” stated a release issued by the Raj Bhavan.