New Delhi

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday released its fourth list of 13 candidates for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026, while also announcing a change in its nominee for the Maynaguri constituency.

According to the list, Ashutosh Barma will contest from Sitai (SC), Girija Shankar Roy from Natabari, Soma Thakur from Bagda (SC), Uttam Kumar Banik from Magrahat Purba, Debangshu Panda from Falta, Debashish Dhar from Sonarpur Uttar, Santosh Pathak from Chowrangee, Shyamal Hati from Howrah Dakshin, Ranjan Kumar Pual from Panchla, Piyush Kantil Das from Chandipur, Pradeep Lodha from Garbeta, Manav Guha from Memari, and Arijit Roy from Barabani.

In a key change, Dalim Roy has replaced Kaushik Roy as the party’s candidate from the Maynaguri (SC) Assembly constituency.

Earlier, on March 25, the BJP had released its third list of 19 candidates as part of its preparations for a high-stakes electoral battle against the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) across all 294 constituencies in the state. Among notable candidates, Ratna Debnath, mother of the RG Kar Medical College rape and murder victim, was fielded from Panihati.

With the latest announcement, the BJP has now declared candidates for 287 seats. This includes 144 candidates in the first list, 111 in the second, 19 in the third, and 13 in the fourth.

As per the schedule announced by the Election Commission of India, polling in the state will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29, with counting of votes scheduled for May 4.

For the first phase, the last date for filing nominations is April 6, scrutiny will take place on April 7, and candidates can withdraw their nominations until April 9.

For the second phase, covering 142 constituencies, the notification will be issued on April 2. The last date for filing nominations is April 9, scrutiny will be conducted on April 10, and withdrawals will be allowed until April 13.

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The elections are expected to witness an intense contest as parties gear up for a decisive political battle in the state.