After much speculation and debate, BJP announced its candidate for the Asansol constituency in West Bengal for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The party has chosen former Union Minister S.S. Ahluwalia, who won the Bardhaman-Durgapur seat in 2019 but with a narrow margin. This time, BJP is also fielding its former state president Dilip Ghosh from Bardhaman-Durgapur. With this announcement, BJP has now named candidates for 41 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, with the exception of the high-profile Diamond Harbour constituency.
In Durgapur, a First Information Report (FIR) was filed against BJP MP Dilip Ghosh for his derogatory comments about West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. This came after the Election Commission issued Ghosh a show-cause notice for his statements. In the video, Ghosh appeared to mock Banerjee's family background and question her loyalty to various states. While the BJP sought explanation from Ghosh, he apologized and clarified that there was no personal animosity towards the chief minister, but his comments stemmed from Banerjee's political rhetoric.
The Election Commission has issued show-cause notices to BJP leader Dilip Ghosh and Congress leader Supriya Shrinate for their controversial remarks against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and actor Kangana Ranaut. The commission deemed their comments "undignified and in bad taste" and said they were in violation of the Model Code of Conduct. Both Ghosh and Shrinate have been asked to respond to the notices within 48 hours.