Vikrant Shekhawat : Mar 05, 2021, 11:49 AM
Kolkata: The battlelines are drawn for West Bengal assembly election 2021 as a report on Friday confirmed that Suvendu Adhikari will be fighting polls against Mamata Banerjee from Nandigram seat. According to a report by India Today, a source confirmed the development following BJP’s central election committee (CEC) meeting yesterday. The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and party president JP Nadda.Meanwhile, the BJP is expected to release the first list of candidates for the upcoming West Bengal polls in a day or two. The BJP has shortlisted on an average of 4-5 names per seat for the initial two phases of polling in the state and the list of candidates for those phases will be finalised on March 4, Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said on Wednesday.All eyes are set on Nandigram as it will witness a high-profile contest between Adikari and Mamata. Adhikari had earlier asserted he will defeat his former boss by “at least 50,000 votes” if fielded from the Nandigram constituency.Adhikari held a key position in the TMC-led West Bengal cabinet and was in charge of the state’s transport, irrigation and waterways in the Mamata Banerjee government. He, last year, tendered his resignation and switched to BJP.Dilip Ghosh confident of BJP winning West Bengal electionsState party chief Dilip Ghosh on Thursday said the Bharatiya Janata Party will definitely win by 200 of the total 294 Assembly seats. “We will not get less than 200 (seats). It will definitely be more than 200. We did not begin preparations today, we had started five years back,” said Ghosh.West Bengal PollsElections in Bengal, poised to be a tough contest between the TMC and the BJP, will be held in eight phases between March 27 and April 29. Votes will be counted on May 2.