Kolkata, 21 March (H.S.): With the West Bengal Assembly elections approaching, both the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have fielded several well-known faces from the film and sports world. However, unlike previous elections, the much-talked-about “surprise factor” appears largely missing this time, with both parties relying more on familiar and politically experienced personalities than fresh celebrity entrants.
The ruling Trinamool Congress has given tickets to a few known faces from the entertainment and sports sectors, but the party’s strategy appears to favour candidates with prior electoral or organisational experience. Actor Soham Chakraborty has been fielded from Karimpur, while filmmaker Raj Chakraborty will contest from Barrackpore. Actress Sayantika Banerjee has once again been nominated from Baranagar, indicating the party’s continued confidence in tested faces.
The party has also retained sitting MLAs from the entertainment world. Folk singer Aditi Munshi has been renominated from Rajarhat Gopalpur, while actress Lovely Maitra will again contest from Sonarpur South. Singer Indranil Sen, an MLA since 2016, has been renominated from Chandannagar.
In a notable move, the TMC has fielded Asian Games gold medallist Swapna Barman from Rajganj, marking her electoral debut soon after she joined the party. The party has also nominated footballer Bidesh Bose from Saptagram and cricketer-turned-coach Shib Shankar Paul from Tufanganj, adding to the list of sportspersons in the fray.
Shreya Pandey, daughter of late TMC MLA Sadhan Pandey, has been nominated from Maniktala, marking her first major political contest. Political observers believe the relatively limited number of celebrity candidates suggests that the TMC has prioritised organisational strength and experienced candidates over experimentation with new faces.
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BJP banks on prominent names
On the other hand, the BJP’s candidate list has generated considerable buzz, with a mix of established and new celebrity entrants. While the party has nominated known faces like Rudranil Ghosh and Hiran Chatterjee, it has also introduced new candidates such as Papia Adhikari and Shraboni Mukherjee.
Rudranil Ghosh has been fielded from Shibpur, while Hiran Chatterjee will contest from Shyampur. Chatterjee’s shift from his earlier winning seat of Kharagpur Sadar to Shyampur has surprised some political observers, particularly in the backdrop of controversies related to his personal life.
Among the new entrants, actress Papia Adhikari has been nominated from Tollygunge and Shraboni Mukherjee from Jadavpur. A high-profile contest is also expected in Sonarpur South, where BJP candidate and actress Rupa Ganguly is set to face TMC’s Lovely Maitra.
The BJP has so far announced candidates for 256 seats across two phases, with 38 seats yet to be declared. Polling for the 294-member West Bengal Assembly will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29, while counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.
Notably, this will be the first time in nearly three decades that Assembly elections in West Bengal will be conducted in two phases. As campaigning gathers momentum, the presence of celebrity candidates is expected to add glamour and crowd-pulling appeal, even as the broader political trend indicates a cautious reliance on familiar and electorally seasoned faces rather than dramatic new inclusions.
Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh
