BJP Unveils Second Candidate List for West Bengal Assembly Elections: Who's In and Who's Out?

The BJP has unveiled its second list of candidates for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections, featuring a total of 255 nominees. This list includes notable figures from the entertainment industry, such as Roopa Ganguly and Papiya Adhikari. With uncertainty surrounding the party's strategy in the hill constituencies, the political landscape is heating up as the elections approach. Read on to find out more about the candidates and their constituencies.

By Narendra Chaudhary Mar 19, 2026, 20:52 IST

BJP's Candidate Lineup for West Bengal Elections

Kolkata: On Thursday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) revealed its second list of candidates for the upcoming two-phase Assembly elections in West Bengal, adding nominees for an additional 111 constituencies.

This brings the total number of candidates announced by the party to 255 for the 294-member Assembly. The initial list, which was made public on March 14, included candidates for 144 constituencies, leaving 39 candidates still to be disclosed.

It remains uncertain whether the BJP will nominate its own candidates for the three hill constituencies of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and Kurseong, or if these will be reserved for its ally, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), founded by Bimal Gurung.

Among the candidates in the second list are three individuals from the entertainment sector. Roopa Ganguly, a former Rajya Sabha member and actress, will contest from Sonapur (Dakshin) in the South 24 Parganas district, where she will compete against Trinamool Congress candidate and fellow actress Lovely Moitra.

Actor Hiran Chattopadhyay, who currently serves as a BJP legislator, has been nominated from the Shyampur assembly constituency in Howrah district, moving from his previous constituency of Kharagpur (Sadar) in West Midnapore.

Dilip Ghosh, the former state BJP president and ex-national vice-president, will run from Kharagpur (Sadar) this election cycle.

Another notable candidate is actress-turned-politician Papiya Adhikari, who will contest from the Tollygunge assembly constituency in South Kolkata.

Arjun Singh, a former Lok Sabha member from Barrackpore, is set to represent the BJP from Noapara in North 24 Parganas. Additionally, Kaustav Chattopadhya, a senior counsel at the Calcutta High Court who switched from Congress to BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, will be the party's candidate for Barrackpore.

Nishith Pramanik, a former Union Minister of State for Home Affairs and ex-Lok Sabha member from Cooch Behar, will contest from Mathabhanga assembly constituency in Cooch Behar district.

Most of the current BJP legislators have been re-nominated in both the first and second candidate lists.