BJP OPENS KOLKATA–HOWRAH TICKET RACE, PUTS PUBLIC CREDIBILITY AT THE HEART OF CIVIC CANDIDATE SELECTION
October 24, 2026
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has opened its candidate-selection process for the upcoming Kolkata and Howrah civic elections, with Union minister Sukanta Majumdar announcing that applicants will be assessed with particular attention to their public image. The move marks the beginning of the party’s formal preparations for the municipal contests, as it seeks applications from party leaders and prominent personalities ahead of the polls.
Majumdar announced on Saturday that aspirants must submit their applications by 5pm on October 26. Applications can be deposited in a designated drop box at the BJP office on Muralidhar Sen Lane in north Kolkata. Majumdar, who is overseeing the party’s preparations for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections, said the BJP intends to announce its candidate list within three days of the official notification of the civic polls.
The emphasis on public image is expected to be an important consideration in the selection process. Majumdar said the party was also seeking applications from prominent personalities to ensure broader and more diverse representation among its nominees. The announcement suggests that the selection process will consider not only established party figures but also individuals who could bring wider public recognition and experience to the party’s civic-election campaign.
At the same time, Majumdar indicated that the party would take into account those who had stood by the organisation during difficult periods. He said their contributions would be considered while candidates were being chosen, underlining the importance of organisational loyalty alongside the stated emphasis on public standing.
The BJP leader also addressed the possibility of an understanding with the NCPI, a relatively little-known political outfit that has emerged as a new player in Bengal politics following the defection of 20 Trinamool Congress MPs after Mamata Banerjee’s defeat in the state Assembly elections. The breakaway MPs subsequently extended support to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance at the Centre.
Majumdar said the BJP would contest all 209 seats in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections. However, he did not completely rule out a possible arrangement with the NCPI in the forthcoming contests. “Nothing is impossible, but so far there is no news of any alliance,” he said, indicating that no agreement had been announced at the time of his remarks.
The candidate-selection exercise comes as political parties prepare for civic contests that will place local administration, public services and urban development under renewed scrutiny. Kolkata and Howrah are major urban centres where municipal governance involves a wide range of issues, including roads, drainage, sanitation, waste management and public infrastructure.
For the BJP, the immediate task is to complete its application process and finalise its nominees once the election schedule is announced. Majumdar’s deadline of October 26 gives aspirants a short period to submit their names, while the promise of publishing the candidate list within three days of the poll notification signals the party’s intention to move quickly once the electoral process formally begins.
The party’s stated focus on candidates’ public image, the search for prominent personalities and its commitment to those who remained with the organisation during difficult periods will all form part of the selection exercise. Whether the process results in a broader range of nominees will become clearer when the BJP releases its list for the Kolkata and Howrah civic elections.
