By IANS,
Kolkata : A total of 146 candidates filed their papers for 14 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, as nominations for the first phase of elections in the state closed Thursday.
BJP heavyweight Jaswant Singh, contesting from Darjeeling, was among the 26 candidates who entered the fray during the day.
Purulia has the maximum number of candidates, 16, followed by Darjeeling – 14.
Bidhnupur in Bankura has the least number of nominees – seven.
Among those trying their luck for the 14 seats are state Congress president Subrata Mukherjee from Bankura, Congress leader Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi’s wife Deepa from Raiganj, and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader in the outgoing Lok Sabha Basudeb Acharya.
West Bengal will have three-phase polling, beginning April 30. The second phase May 7 will cover 17 constituencies, while the remaining 11 seats go to the hustings May 13.