Left unveils second list, fields another 32, total tally now 234

The Left Front on Thursday announced its second list of candidates for the upcoming Assembly election in West Bengal, taking its total tally of declared nominees to 234 out of 294 seats.

At a Press conference held at the Alimuddin Street headquarters, CPI-M state secretary Mohammed Salim unveiled the names of 32 candidates in the second phase. Earlier, the Left Front had announced candidates for 192 seats in its first list, followed by an additional 10 candidates declared by CPI-ML Liberation, taking the total to 202. The latest list, however, largely reflects continuity, with no major surprises. Notably, both Salim and prominent youth leader Satarup Ghosh are absent from the candidate list so far. In a significant seat-sharing adjustment, the CPI-M has ceded the high-profile Nandigram constituency to its ally, CPI.

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Shanti Giri has been fielded from the seat, where he will take on senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari and Trinamul Congress candidate Pabitra Kar. Nandigram remains one of the most politically sensitive constituencies in the state. In Bhawanipur, the Left Front has nominated advocate Srijib Biswas against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Biswas, a familiar face in Left politics, has contested multiple elections in the past but has yet to secure a victory. Among other key announcements, Afrin Begum, a research scholar from Jadavpur University, has been fielded from Ballygunge. Her candidature was widely speculated after she was recently seen accompanying senior CPI-M leaders to a meeting with the Election Commission of India. She will face Trinamul Congress candidate and minister Shovandeb Chattopadhyay, as well as the BJP nominee.

The Left has also announced candidates for several other constituencies, including Tollygunge, where Partha Pratim Biswas will contest, and Raninagar, from where Jamal Hossain has been nominated. With 234 candidates now announced, the Left Front is expected to announce its remaining nominees in the coming days as it seeks to consolidate its position in a fiercely contested electoral battle.