West Bengal Polls: Congress List of 284 Candidates Out, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Fielded from Baharampur

Kolkata: Ahead of the highly-anticipated West Bengal polls, the Congress has released its first list of 284 candidates.

Former West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has been fielded from Baharampur, while Mausam Noor will be contesting from Malatipur.

The Congress which had been a partner with the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, has usually remained rivals at the state level.

The Congress leadership in the state has been a vocal critic of the TMC, and has voiced its concern on several issues against the state government on several occasions.

The Congress was earlier allied with the Left in the West Bengal elections, however, this time it has chosen to contest solo. The party's electoral prospects in the state has been dwindling in recent years.

In the 2021 Assembly elections, the grand old party won just one seat, and secured only 1. 6% of the votes. The party had also won only one seat in the 2016, and had secured 2. 2% of the votes.

The Lok Sabha election was not much promising for the Congress either. In the 2024 General Elections, it had won only one seat and secured 4. 7% of the votes. In the 2019 elections, it had won two seats and 5. 7% of the votes.