Kolkata, March 11 (IANS) The Congress may announce candidates for the forthcoming elections to 294 Assembly constituencies in West Bengal in three separate phases based on the recommendations of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC).

“In the first list, which might be announced very shortly, the names of around 100 candidates could be declared, including several party heavyweights. Our state Congress president in West Bengal, Suvankar Sarkar, has already left for New Delhi this evening to finalise the names for the first list after discussions with the All India Congress Committee,” said a WBPCC insider, who refused to be named.

The first list, he added, might include names such as former state Congress president in West Bengal and former five-time Lok Sabha member from the Baharampur constituency in Murshidabad district, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

The first list of 100 candidates might also include the name of former Congress Lok Sabha member and former Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member Mausam Benazir Noor, who recently quit the Trinamool Congress and resigned from the Rajya Sabha before rejoining the Congress.

The Congress has this time severed its electoral and seat-sharing ties with the CPI(M)-led Left Front, which had been in place since the 2016 West Bengal Assembly elections and continued through the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and has announced that it will contest independently from all the 294 Assembly constituencies in the state.

The party has also ruled out any kind of electoral understanding with the Trinamool Congress for the forthcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal.

“This time, the party high command is relying more on the suggestions of the WBPCC in election-related matters, including the selection of candidates. In fact, the decision to contest independently was also taken based on suggestions from the WBPCC, which were framed after consultations with various district committees of the party in West Bengal,” the WBPCC insider said.

–IANS

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