To take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) the Indian National Congress (INC) has finally nominated minority candidates in all Lok Sabha seats in the Muslim dominated central West Bengal except Berhampur.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary K C Venugopal has yesterday announced the name of party candidates from Uttar Dinajpur to Birbhum. The AICC has not yet announced its candidate for Darjeeling LS seat. Notably, the Congress has adjusted seats with the Left Front in Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri and Balurghat in north Bengal.

The Congress has fielded Ali Imran Ramz from Raiganj LS seat. Ali Imran alias Victor, a former MLA on Forward Bloc ticket from Goalpokhar in North Dinajpur will contest against the Trinamul Congress candidate Krishna Kalyani and the BJP candidate.

The saffron party has not yet announced its name for its candidates for Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling and Raiganj LS seats in north Bengal.

The central leadership of the BJP has summoned the state president Sukanta Majumdar and the Leader of Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari to finalize candidates for 23 seats of the 42 in West Bengal.

Sources said the BJP will declare its name for a few seats of West Bengal including Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling and Raiganj following a meeting to be held in Delhi on Saturday.

The Congress has fielded Mostaque Alam, a senior party leader, who was elected as an MLA twice from Harishchandrapur Assembly segment in Malda district, from Malda North LS seat.

The Congress candidate Mr Alam will take on the BJP candidate Khagen Murmu, who was elected from the same seat in 2019, and the Trinamul Congress candidate Prasun Banerjee, a former IPS officer.

In Malda South, the Congress has nominated Isha Khan Choudhury, a family member of the Late ABA Ghani Khan Choudhury. Mr Choudhury, son of the outgoing MP AH Khan Choudhury, who had contested the LS Polls from Malda North in 2019, will take on the BJP candidate Srirupa Mitra Chowdhury and the TMC candidate Sehnaj Ali Rehan.

The Congress has fielded Mortaja Hossain alias Bokul from Jangipur LS seat in Murshidabad district. Similarly, Milton Rashid will contest from LS seat Birbhum as a Congress candidate.

Mr Pathan yesterday attended the Janagarjan Sabha in Berhampur yesterday and said, “This is my home and I am here to stay.”

“The love I feel today is the same as the one I received as a Kolkata Knight Riders player. Back then, I used to be on the cricket ground during matches. Today, I am fortunate to experience this love among the people,” Mr Pathan added.