Campaigning ends for second phase of WB Assembly polls

Campaigning for the second phase of West Bengal polls, on April 23 in 50 Assembly seats, came to an end today.

Prominent candidates in the fray are Abhijit Mukhkerjee, son of Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee from Nalhati seat, Panchayat minister and CPI(M) leader Anisur Rehman, former High Court Judge Nure Alam Chowdhury, a Trinamool Congress candidate contesting from Murarai and Rukbanur Rehman, brother of late computer graphics teacher Rizwanur Rehman from the Chapra constituency.

Altogether 293 aspirants will vie for 50 seats with the BJP fielding candidates in all seats, followed by CPI(M) in 31, Trinamool Congress in 29, BSP in 27 and Congress in 21.

The seats in the three districts of Nadia (17), Birbhum (11) and Murshidabad (22) have an electorate of 9,333,523 and 11,531 polling stations.

Police sources said that 480 companies of central para-military forces have been deployed in the three districts.

During the campaign Sonia Gandhi, Pranab Mukherjee, Md Azharuddin addressed rallies for the Congress, while BJP fielded senior leaders L K Advani and Nitin Gadkari. Mamata Banerjee campaigned for the Trinamool Congress while CPI(M) leaders Biman Basu and Gautam Deb addressed election rallies in the three districts.

Despite suspension of several rebel candidates by the Congress, at least eight of them are still in the fray in Murshidabad and Nadia districts.

They are being patronised in Murshidabad by the district president and MP, Adhir Chowdhury and in Nadia by DCC president Shankar Singh.