88 contestants in fray for April 30 LS polls in Bengal

Altogether 88 contestants remained in fray for April 30 Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal after the withdrawal of a nomination, the Election Commission officials said here today.
Nine Lok Sabha constituencies -- Howrah, Uluberia, Serampore, Hooghly, Arambagh, Burdwan-Durgapur, Burdwan (East), Bolpur and Birbhum -- are going to the polls in the third phase of elections in the state.
"The lone nomination was withdrawn in Howrah LS constituency, bringing down the total number of contestants from 17 to 16 for the seat after the withdrawal was over," OSD in CEO's office Amit Roy Chowdhury said.
The candidates who have filed nominations from nine Lok Sabha constituencies for the April 30 polls are 16 from Howrah, 13 from Uluberia, 11 from Birbhum, 10 from Serampore, nine each from Hooghly and Burdwan (East), eight from Burdwan-Durgapur, seven from Bolpur and five from Arambagh.

The four parliamentary seats - Coochbehar, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling - which will go to the polls on April 17 in the first phase, have 47 contestants.
The six parliamentary seats of Raiganj, Balurghat, Malda (North), Malda (South), Jangipur and Murshidabad, which are going to the polls on April 24 in the second phase, have altogether 78 contestants.