Kolkata, July 23 BJP’s former national vice-president and the former state president in West Bengal, Dilip Ghosh, on Wednesday, said that he is keen to contest as a party candidate in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly polls but from the same Assembly constituency from where he got elected for the first time in 2016.
In 2016, Ghosh contested from Kharagpur (Sadar) in West Midnapore constituency. However, he had to resign as the MLA from Kharagpur (Sadar) in 2019 after winning from the Midnapore Lok Sabha constituency in the same year.
In 2024, he contested from the Bardhaman-Durgapur constituency in West Burdwan district but lost.
"I had just completed six months as the new state party president in 2016, and my party’s central leadership directed me to contest the state assembly elections that year. I was given a choice of seat then, and I decided to contest from the Kharagpur (Sadar) constituency,” he said.
He pointed out that if the party says he is keen to contest from Kharagpur (Sadar) again.
“I cannot certainly claim that I will be the party's candidate from Kharagpur (Sadar). It is to be decided by the central leadership. But if they ask me to contest the election, then I will contest,” Ghosh said.
However, Ghosh also expressed his displeasure over the party’s decision to shift him as the party candidate from Bardhaman-Durgapur constituency in 2024 from Midnapore, where he was elected in 2019.
“The party conducted an experiment in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal. It did not work. It is now up to the leadership to take a call on this,” Ghosh said.
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