The Bharatiya Janata Party has clarified that its cadre will be prioritised in deciding the candidates for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections, allaying fears that the NCPI – the party which subsumed most Trinamool Congress MPs and now supports the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre – might demand a chunk of the poll tickets BJP workers have their eyes on.
Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar, who heads the BJP panel on the local elections in West Bengal, laid down the criteria for poll tickets. “There is an SOP for the party’s candidacy, and we will follow it. Second, we consider whether the person is a BJP worker. Additionally, I feel, and the party may also think this way, that we should bring in good people from society. Bengal BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya was emphatic in stating that the party’s doors for NCPI-backed candidates are closed. “Those who are Trinamool remain Trinamool. The BJP contested the election against the Trinamool Congress on its own strength, and the people rejected the Trinamool Congress. People did not vote for the BJP just to see a change of attire (by politicians).
Therefore, the BJP did not come to power through anyone’s charity. Soon after the BJP dislodged Mamata Banerjee from power, the party she founded in 1998 disintegrated, with over 60 MLAs forming a separate group and over 20 MPs joining NCPI. The BJP learned lessons from the 2021 elections; building upon those, it contested the 2026 elections and formed a government under the leadership of Suvendu Adhikari with a two-thirds majority. The people placed their trust in the BJP, and that trust remains unshaken to this day,” he said, reacting to MP Kunal Ghosh’s swipe that the BJP would have to rely on turncoats for nomination to the 209 Kolkata corporation seats.
“Winnability” topped the list, followed by a candidate’s links to the party. He, however, made an exception, saying “good people from outside” should be brought in, indicating BJP credentials are not the ultimate test for candidacy. In politics, just like fresh water coming into a reservoir cleanses and improves the overall quality, bringing in good people from outside can also be beneficial,” he said. A courtroom struggle is underway between Banerjee and the group of MLAs for the right to be called the “real Trinamool”.
As I mentioned earlier, we look at several factors, the first being winnability, whether the candidate can win.
