Booth level workers have got a place in the list. The party demanded the Center to monitor the elections
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday announced the list of candidates for 144 wards here. Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and nominated nine Muslim candidates, including five women, the most in any local body election in West Bengal. In the assembly elections held earlier this year, it had fielded nine candidates in Malda, Murshidabad and Uttar Dinajpur. However, none of them could win.
The Trinamool Congress has fielded 23 minority candidates in the KMC elections to be held on December 19.
Of the nine BJP candidates, five have been fielded in areas with a large Muslim population in Kolkata Port and Metaibruz areas in the south-western part of the city. The other four will contest from Jorasanko, Beleghata and Chownghi areas in central Kolkata.
BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya declined to consider any question on the number of minority candidates. “The BJP is not involved in the politics of alienating minorities,” he said. Political observers believe that the BJP’s move is an acknowledgment that the party cannot contest elections in West Bengal without taking into account the 27% minority voters.
The BJP nominated 50 women and, unlike the assembly elections, has been conservative by nominating booth-level party workers. When asked whether the party was shying away from nominating cine stars, the state BJP spokesperson said the actors are busy.
The campaign has started with candidates from TMC, Left parties and BJP taking to the streets. Several TMC candidates, including outgoing Mayor Firhad Hakim, filed their nomination papers on Monday.
Later in the day, a BJP delegation met State Election Commissioner (SEC) Saurav Das and demanded deployment of Central Armed Police Forces for the elections. The commission has not yet taken a decision on the issue.
The Calcutta High Court will hear on Wednesday a petition by the BJP seeking elections to all 112 municipalities on a single day.
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