Hooghly, 26 March (H.S.): Discontent within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over candidate selection continued in West Bengal, with party workers staging protests against the nomination of Deepanjan Guha from the Chandannagar assembly constituency in Hooghly district.

Protests that began on Wednesday night continued into Thursday, with BJP workers taking to the streets holding party flags and raising slogans demanding that Guha be withdrawn as the candidate. According to party sources, resentment has been brewing among a section of the organisation since Guha’s name was announced in the party’s third list.

Demonstrators gathered on GT Road in Baghbazar area to register their protest. Guha, a resident of Chuchura, had also contested the 2021 assembly elections from Chandannagar on a BJP ticket but lost to Trinamool Congress candidate Indranil Sen. His renomination has triggered dissatisfaction among a section of party workers and supporters.

Notably, protests over candidate selection have been reported from several parts of the state. In Kolkata’s Beleghata constituency, party workers demonstrated demanding a change of candidate, leading to heated arguments and unrest. At the party’s Salt Lake office, workers also staged protests, where BJP leader Locket Chatterjee was seen issuing stern remarks to the agitators.

State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya had to intervene to pacify the agitating workers and attempted to bring the situation under control. However, despite these efforts, discontent persists in several areas, with repeated demands for withdrawal of certain candidates.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey