BJP workers hit streets in Chandannagar over candidate choice

Fresh trouble has emerged for the BJP in West Bengal as party workers in Chandannagar Assembly constituency of Hooghly district staged protests against the declared candidate, Dipanjan Guha. Demonstrations that began late Wednesday night continued into Thursday, with workers taking to the streets, raising slogans and openly expressing dissent against the party’s selection.

Protesters carrying party flags marched through areas including GT Road in Bagbazar, chanting slogans demanding that Dipanjan Guha step down. Discontent has been brewing since the announcement of his candidature in the party’s third list, with a section of local workers reportedly unhappy over his renomination.

Dipanjan Guha, a resident of Chinsurah, had contested from Chandannagar in the 2021 Assembly elections on a BJP ticket but was defeated by Trinamool Congress candidate Indranil Sen. His re-selection has not gone down well with several party workers, who believe the decision does not reflect local organisational sentiment.

The unrest in Chandannagar is part of a broader pattern of internal dissent within the BJP across the state. Similar protests have been reported in constituencies like Beleghata and at the party office in Salt Lake. Despite intervention by state leadership to pacify agitating workers, dissatisfaction over candidate selection continues, posing a challenge for the party ahead of the elections.