The Crossbill Team
The Left Front in West Bengal on Monday (March 16) released its first list of candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections, announcing nominees for 192 constituencies across the state. The announcement was made by Left Front Chairman Biman Basu, who said the remaining candidates would be declared shortly.
Addressing the media while releasing the list, Basu said, "The names of 192 candidates have been announced today. The remaining names will be announced in the next few days."
He added that the list includes 28 women candidates, reflecting the alliance’s attempt to ensure greater representation.
Several prominent leaders and emerging faces from different parts of the state have been fielded in the first phase.
Among the notable candidates named are Minakshi Mukherjee, Kaltan Dasgupta, Dhrubajyoti Saha, Mayukh Biswas, Dipsita Dhar, and senior advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya. The list also includes several young leaders such as Saikat Giri, Sayan Banerjee, Nihar Bhakta, Manas Mukherjee, Debjyoti Das, Gargi Chatterjee, and Sayandip Mitra.
One of the most notable names in the CPI(M)’s candidate list is Sabina Yasmin, who has been fielded from the Kaliganj Assembly constituency in Nadia district. Yasmin is the mother of nine-year-old Tamanna Khatun, who was killed in an incident of political violence on June 23, 2025. The child died after Trinamool Congress workers allegedly hurled crude bombs at their residence following their victory in the local by-elections, killing her on the spot.
Leaders of several constituent parties of the alliance were present during the announcement. Along with Basu, Mohammad Salim, state secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Naren Chatterjee of the All India Forward Bloc, Swapan Banerjee of the Communist Party of India, and leaders from the Revolutionary Socialist Party were also present.
In a notable development, the CPI(ML) Liberation will contest the Assembly elections as an ally of the Left Front for the first time. As part of the seat-sharing arrangement, the party will contest in 10 constituencies.
The candidate list released by the Left Front covers a wide geographical spread of the state, including districts in North Bengal such as Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Darjeeling, as well as constituencies across south Bengal including Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, East and West Midnapore, Purulia, Bankura and Birbhum.
Among key nominations in the Kolkata metropolitan region are Gargi Chatterjee from Noapara, Dipsita Dhar from Dum Dum North, Mayukh Biswas from Dum Dum, Manas Mukherjee from Kamarhati, Debjyoti Das from Khardah, Nihar Bhakta from Behala West and Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya from Jadavpur.
Senior mass leaders have also been fielded in several important constituencies. Meenakshi Mukherjee will contest from Uttarpara, while candidates have been announced for several politically significant seats in North Bengal, including Cooch Behar, Dinhata, Falakata and Jalpaiguri.
Meanwhile, the decision of the Congress and the Left Front to contest the upcoming elections separately brings to an end nearly a decade of electoral understanding between the two parties. In the 2021 Assembly elections, both the Left Front and the Congress failed to win a single seat, while the Indian Secular Front (ISF) managed to secure one seat in West Bengal.
Naushad Siddiqui, the lone winning candidate from the ISF in the 2021 Assembly elections, will once again contest from Bhangar. However, details of other constituencies to be negotiated with his party have not yet been finalised.
With the announcement of the first list of 192 candidates, the Left Front has formally launched its electoral campaign, projecting a mix of experienced leaders and younger faces as it seeks to strengthen its organisational presence and challenge the ruling dispensation in the upcoming Assembly polls.
Addressing the media while releasing the list, Basu said, "The names of 192 candidates have been announced today. The remaining names will be announced in the next few days."
He added that the list includes 28 women candidates, reflecting the alliance’s attempt to ensure greater representation.
Several prominent leaders and emerging faces from different parts of the state have been fielded in the first phase.
Among the notable candidates named are Minakshi Mukherjee, Kaltan Dasgupta, Dhrubajyoti Saha, Mayukh Biswas, Dipsita Dhar, and senior advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya. The list also includes several young leaders such as Saikat Giri, Sayan Banerjee, Nihar Bhakta, Manas Mukherjee, Debjyoti Das, Gargi Chatterjee, and Sayandip Mitra.
One of the most notable names in the CPI(M)’s candidate list is Sabina Yasmin, who has been fielded from the Kaliganj Assembly constituency in Nadia district. Yasmin is the mother of nine-year-old Tamanna Khatun, who was killed in an incident of political violence on June 23, 2025. The child died after Trinamool Congress workers allegedly hurled crude bombs at their residence following their victory in the local by-elections, killing her on the spot.
Leaders of several constituent parties of the alliance were present during the announcement. Along with Basu, Mohammad Salim, state secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Naren Chatterjee of the All India Forward Bloc, Swapan Banerjee of the Communist Party of India, and leaders from the Revolutionary Socialist Party were also present.
In a notable development, the CPI(ML) Liberation will contest the Assembly elections as an ally of the Left Front for the first time. As part of the seat-sharing arrangement, the party will contest in 10 constituencies.
The candidate list released by the Left Front covers a wide geographical spread of the state, including districts in North Bengal such as Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Darjeeling, as well as constituencies across south Bengal including Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, East and West Midnapore, Purulia, Bankura and Birbhum.
Among key nominations in the Kolkata metropolitan region are Gargi Chatterjee from Noapara, Dipsita Dhar from Dum Dum North, Mayukh Biswas from Dum Dum, Manas Mukherjee from Kamarhati, Debjyoti Das from Khardah, Nihar Bhakta from Behala West and Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya from Jadavpur.
Senior mass leaders have also been fielded in several important constituencies. Meenakshi Mukherjee will contest from Uttarpara, while candidates have been announced for several politically significant seats in North Bengal, including Cooch Behar, Dinhata, Falakata and Jalpaiguri.
Meanwhile, the decision of the Congress and the Left Front to contest the upcoming elections separately brings to an end nearly a decade of electoral understanding between the two parties. In the 2021 Assembly elections, both the Left Front and the Congress failed to win a single seat, while the Indian Secular Front (ISF) managed to secure one seat in West Bengal.
Naushad Siddiqui, the lone winning candidate from the ISF in the 2021 Assembly elections, will once again contest from Bhangar. However, details of other constituencies to be negotiated with his party have not yet been finalised.
With the announcement of the first list of 192 candidates, the Left Front has formally launched its electoral campaign, projecting a mix of experienced leaders and younger faces as it seeks to strengthen its organisational presence and challenge the ruling dispensation in the upcoming Assembly polls.
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