The Bengal BJP has denied speculation that former Trinamul Congress councillors will receive party tickets for the upcoming Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections, saying its candidates for the urban local body polls have not yet been finalised.
Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya dismissed the speculation on Friday when reporters asked him about the possibility of former TMC councillors contesting on BJP tickets. “Who will contest as a candidate has not yet been decided. I extend Bijoya Dashami greetings to all those whose names you are mentioning,” he said.
The remarks came amid discussion over the BJP’s selection process for the Kolkata civic elections. Polls to the Kolkata and Howrah municipal corporations are likely to be held later this year, although the report did not specify an election schedule.
The candidate question has also become linked to the possibility of the BJP working with potential allies in the civic polls. Union minister Sukanta Majumdar said the party had not held discussions on seat-sharing with any alliance partner. He pointed to the BJP’s decision to contest the West Bengal Assembly elections on its own and said the party had secured a huge mandate.
“We have not held any discussion so far on seat-sharing with any alliance partner,” Majumdar said. His statement leaves the BJP’s approach to possible electoral arrangements for the municipal elections open, with no seat-sharing agreement announced so far.
Trinamul Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh criticised the reported possibility of former party leaders receiving BJP tickets. He challenged the BJP to field leaders of the NCPI, a little-known political outfit that emerged in Bengal politics after 20 TMC MPs crossed over following Mamata Banerjee’s defeat in the Assembly elections. Those breakaway MPs subsequently extended support to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance at the Centre.
Ghosh argued that fielding NCPI leaders would suggest that the BJP did not have enough candidates of its own. The BJP’s response, however, was that its candidate list had not yet been decided, while Majumdar separately said that no discussions on seat-sharing had taken place with potential allies.
The developments place candidate selection at the centre of the early political contest over Kolkata’s municipal administration. The KMC elections will determine the political leadership of the civic body, which is responsible for urban services and local administration in the city. The next formal milestone will be the announcement of the election schedule and the parties’ candidate lists.
