Poonam Azad, the wife of Trinamool Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Kirti Azad, passed away on Monday. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her condolences, stating that she has known Poonam for a long time and was aware of her critical condition. AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi also extended his condolences to Kirti Azad, offering strength and patience in this difficult time.
Kirti Azad, a well-known former cricket player and Lok Sabha member, announced the passing of his wife Poonam Jha Azad early in the morning. Poonam, who had been ill for a long time, was a political figure in her own right, having aligned with various parties before her husband joined the Trinamool Congress this year. Fellow politician and leader Mamata Banerjee expressed her condolences on social media, stating that she has known Poonam for a long time and admired her bravery in her final battle.
The Trinamool Congress party created waves at a mega rally in Kolkata when they announced former cricketers, Yusuf Pathan and Kirti Azad, as surprise candidates for Baharampur and Bardhaman-Durgapur constituencies respectively. The party also dropped sitting MP, actor Nusrat Jahan, from the list and replaced her with MLA Haji Nurul Islam for Basirhat seat. TMC's fielding of popular actors like Shatrughan Sinha, Rachana Banerjee, Saaayoni Ghosh, and June Malia has certainly added to the glamour quotient of the party's candidate list.
The Trinamool Congress has released its list of candidates for all 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, introducing new faces such as cricketers Yusuf Pathan and Kirti Azad. The party renominated 16 sitting MPs and fielded 12 women, while dropping a few sitting MPs and introducing new candidates. The list was announced at a mega rally in Kolkata, where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declared that the party will contest the elections alone.
The TMC, led by Mamata Banerjee, has announced its list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal, including former cricketers Yusuf Pathan and Kirti Azad. While Pathan will be contesting against Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from Behrampore, TMC has also fielded its former MP Haji Nurul Islam from the Basirhat seat, dropping sitting MP Nusrat Jahan. This move comes as TMC intends to contest all 42 seats in the state alone, amidst a saffron surge.