Three-way contest for Kaliganj bypoll in West Bengal

Image for representation. | Photo Credit: PTI

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has put its weight behind the Congress candidate at Kaliganj bypoll in Nadia district of West Bengal prompting a three-way contest. The Congress has named Kabil Uddin Shaikh as its candidate, and the CPI(M)-led Left Front has extended support to him.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday nominated Ashis Ghosh as its candidate for Kaliganj. The election at the constituency was necessitated by the death of Trinamool Congress MLA Nasir Ahmed. The Trinamool has nominated the deceased MLA ‘s daughter Alifa Ahmed to contest from the seat. The voting in the constituency will be held on June 19, and the results will be declared on June 23.

Alifa Ahmed filed her nomination paper on May 30. After her nomination, Ms. Ahmed said Trinamool is committed to women empowerment as it has fielded 38% women candidates in the last Lok Sabha polls.

State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar on Saturday said Mr. Ghosh was a member of the local panchayat and a former mandal president of the party. “Ghosh is a loyal and dedicated party worker. He will play an important role in fulfilling the organisational objectives,” Mr. Majumdar said. In the last Assembly polls, Trinamool secured 53%, BJP 31% and Congress 12% of vote share.

Earlier this week, the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, announced that 20 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) will be deployed in Kaliganj for the bypoll.

Published - May 31, 2025 09:32 pm IST