Mamata Banerjee (TMC): The chief minister of West Bengal is fighting the elections from the south-Kolkata constituency of Bhawanipur a seat that she won with a margin of 54,000 votes in the bypolls after her party’s emphatic win in 2011 elections. Mamata created Trinamool Congress (TMC) in 2000 and single-handedly brought down the 34-year old Left front government in the state. She was twice Indian Railway minister.
Surya Kanta Mishra (CPM): A doctor by profession, Mishra has been the leader of the opposition in state assembly and was elected as the state secretary of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM). He is one of the key figures in creating the unprecedented alliance between the CPM and the Congress party. He is contesting from his hometown Narayangarh in West Midnapore, a constituency he has been representing since 1991.
Ashok Bhattacharyya (CPM): The mayor of Siliguri and former Urban Development Minister in Left Front government was elected from Siliguri since 1991 was defeated in 2011. He is considered as the forbearer of the CPM-Congress alliance through his ‘Siliguri model’. He is contesting from Siliguri.
Madan Mitra (TMC): Former state transport minister, now behind bars for his alleged role in the Saradha Chit Fund scam, is contesting from Kamarhati constituency. Though he was unable to campaign, his family took on the responsibility and even Mamata Banerjee has campaigned for him. A defeat would mean a rejection over the scam that looted savings of millions.
Subrata Mukherjee (TMC): Considered the craftiest politician, he has been a party hopper for long, switching between the Congress and the TMC. He was discredited for having taken money from a fictitious company as shown by the news portal Narada. The former mayor of Kolkata is contesting from Ballygunj constituency from where he had won in 2011.
Firhad Hakim (TMC): Popularly known as Bobby, this blue-eyed boy of the chief minister got into trouble recently after he was seen taking bribes by a news portal. He also faced criticism as urban development minister when the flyover collapsed. He is contesting from Kolkata Port constituency.
Roopa Ganguly (BJP): A film actress-turned-politician, she joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2015 and soon become the most-acceptable face of the party among its workers. Contesting from Howrah North, Ganguly has been pitted against former cricketer-turned-politician Laxmi Ratan Shukla, a candidate from the TMC.
Manas Bhunia (Congress): Contesting from Sabang, he was against an alliance with the CPM. He was a minister in the TMC government but had to resign when the alliance between the parties fell through in 2012.
Abdul Mannan (Congress): He was at the forefront of seeking a CBI investigation in the Saradha scam. He is a key Congress candidate and is contesting from Champdani constituency in Hooghly district.
Harka Bahadur Chettri: A former legislator of the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha, he left the party to form his own outfit and is contesting from Kalimpong with the support of the TMC
