Kolkata, Mar 05: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to announce the list of candidates for the upcoming assembly elections later today.
She is likely to give more emphasis to women candidates and younger faces. As many as 75 sitting MLAs may be dropped from the list, reports suggest. This is aimed at countering the BJP's allegations that the TMC promotes cut money culture in the execution of government programmes.
The TMC is fighting on the theme, 'Bangla Nijer Meyekei Chai' (Bengal wants its own daughter). The party is expected to field at least 35 per cent women candidates. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the TMC had fielded 40.5 women candidates. 17 of the 42 leaders fielded in the Lok Sabha polls were women.
The BJP on the other hand is expected to announce a list of 60 candidates for the first two phases of the elections.
Elections in Bengal will be held in eight phases on March 27, April 1, 6, 10, 17, 22, 26 and 29. Votes would be counted on May 2.