Kolkata: The BJP, determined to meet party chief JP Nadda's target of 35 of Bengal's 42 Lok Sabha seats, has come up with a mixed bag from Bengal, which contains a High Court judge, an erstwhile royal, and a woman from Sandeshkhali. Added to this is the usual celebrity component that adds to the sheen of the elections in eastern state known for its intelligentsia and a thriving film industry.
Leading the BJP charge is Rekha Patra. The candidate from Basirhat is one of the women from Sandeshkhali who has been at the forefront of the fight against local Trinamool strongman Sheikh Shahjahan.
In Krishnanagar, the BJP has fielded erstwhile royal Amrita Ray to take on Trinamool's Mahua Moitra, who is back in the electoral fray after being disqualified from the Lok Sabha in connection with the alleged cash-for-questions scam.
Former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who joined the BJP recently after taking voluntary retirement, will contest from Bengal's Tamluk. He is the first retired judge to join electoral politics, moving away from the way the judiciary has so far distanced itself.
Also in the line-up is Tapas Roy, who quit Trinamool after it became clear that he was going to be denied ticket following a raid of the Enforcement Directorate at his house. Now in the BJP, he takes on senior parliamentarian Sudip Bandopadhyay in Kolkata North.
Asansol MLA and former fashion designer Agnimitra Paul, who has been vociferously defending the BJP in Bengal, has replaced Dilip Ghosh in Medinipur. She will face actor and Trinamool MLA June Maliah.
Mr Ghosh, who is credited with delivering 18 seats to the BJP in 2019, has been moved to Bardhhaman-Durgapur, where he faces Trinamool's Kirti Azad.