Kolkata, March 17 (NationPress) The Trinamool Congress has unveiled a list of 291 candidates for the upcoming two-phase elections in April, aimed at filling the 294-member West Bengal Assembly. Notably, the party has chosen to exclude nearly all leaders currently under investigation by central agencies tied to various scandals, while ensuring that close to one-fifth of the candidates are women.

Among the 52 female candidates, which constitutes around 18 percent of the total, is Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who will be contesting from Bhabanipur in south Kolkata. Her opponent is the BJP's Suvendu Adhikari, the Assembly's Leader of the Opposition, who previously defeated Banerjee in Nandigram during the 2021 elections and is contesting from there again.

For the Nandigram constituency, the Trinamool has nominated former BJP leader and Adhikari's ally, Pabitra Kar, who joined the party mere hours before the Chief Minister announced the candidate list.

The party has opted not to renominate all sitting MLAs and former ministers, with the exception of one individual who has faced significant legal issues related to corruption cases, such as the school-job and PDS distribution scandals.

Former Secretary General and Education Minister Partha Chatterjee, who spent approximately three years in jail due to the school job scandal, will not be re-nominated from his usual Behala (Paschim) constituency in South 24 Parganas district.

Others like Manik Bhattacharya from Palashipara in Nadia district and Jiban Krishna Saha from Barwan in Murshidabad district have also been excluded.

The lone exception is Jyotipriya Mallick, former Food & Supplies Minister, who had also faced time behind bars in connection with the multi-crore PDS distribution case. He has been re-nominated from his former constituency of Habra in North 24 Parganas.

Most sitting ministers have been re-nominated in their previous constituencies, and there are no fresh faces from the entertainment industry on the list, suggesting a deliberate mix of established politicians and newcomers.

In the North Bengal hills, the Trinamool has partnered with the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) in allocating three assembly constituencies: Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and Kurseong. This party, led by Anit Thapa, is also the Chief Executive of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA).

Banerjee expressed confidence, stating, "This time our candidates will secure victory in at least 226 Assembly constituencies. Post-elections, the BJP will lose its foothold in West Bengal."

During the 2021 Assembly elections, the Trinamool secured 215 seats, while the BJP acquired 77. The CPI-M-led Left Front, along with the Congress and the All India Secular Front (AISF), formed a seat-sharing agreement, with AISF winning one seat, while neither the Left Front nor the Congress achieved any seats.