The prolonged delay by the BJP leadership in announcing candidates for 23 seats in Bengal after releasing the first list on March 2 has confused the ranks, especially in the three north Bengal constituencies that vote in the first two phases on April 19 and 26.

As all the three seats — Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling and Raiganj — had been bagged by the BJP in 2019, the suspense over the announcement of candidates has given rise to speculation about new nominees, compounding the problems at the grassroots.

In Jalpaiguri, which goes to the polls on April 19, several leaders expressed disappointment over the delay, saying it would come in the way of poll preparedness.

“Only two days are left for the filing of nomination papers. Our district leaders are frequently calling up state leaders with the request that the candidate for Jalpaiguri, at least, be announced by Saturday,” said a senior party functionary in the area.

As the last date for filing nominations for the first phase of polls is March 27, time is running out, said the leader, referring to the long weekend because of Holi.

“The district collectorates will remain closed on March 23 (Saturday), 24 (Sunday) and 25 (Monday, because of Holi). So, we will have only two days to file nominations,” a source said.

The BJP nominees for the two other north Bengal constituencies that vote on April 19 — Nisith Pramanik from Cooch Behar and Manoj Tigga from Alipurduar — are already done with their nominations and have launched their campaigns.

A senior BJP leader said that indecision over renominating sitting MP Jayanta Kumar Roy from Jalpaiguri was one of the many reasons behind the delay.

“The party bagged the Jalpaiguri seat in 2019 with a huge margin of around 1.8 lakh votes.... Trinamul won four of the seven constituencies (that make up the Jalpaiguri Lok Sabha seat) in the 2021 Assembly polls. Trinamul also won the Dhupguri seat in the by-election last year. The battle is likely to be tougher, but we are getting late,” said a BJP leader in Calcutta.

Ground-level workers in Darjeeling and Raiganj, where elections will be held in the second phase, are also getting restless as the last date for filing nominations for the second phase is April 4.

In Darjeeling, the party is in a fix as it has to take a call between former foreign secretary H.V. Shringla and sitting MP Raju Bista. A source said that while Shringla has the required stature, the state unit has pitched for Bista. The absence of a consensus on renominating Debasree Chaudhuri, the sitting MP from Raiganj, is another problem for the BJP poll strategists.

“The first list came on March 2 and 20 days have passed since then.... The delay is not a good signal as it means the leaders are finding it difficult to zero in on candidates,” a BJP source said.

The problem is not limited to north Bengal, there are reports of lack of unanimity on some south Bengal seats as well. These south Bengal seats will vote in the later phases.

There is a buzz in the BJP that crucial time has been lost in convincing former state president and Midnapore MP Dilip Ghosh to shift to another seat. “The party had been considering former police officer Bharati Ghosh for Midnapore, but Dilipda didn’t agree.... Finally, he has been persuaded to contest from another seat,” said a source.

The BJP’s poll strategists are having a tough time selecting candidates for Jhargram, Asansol and Birbhum, too.

In Jhargram, sitting MP Kunar Hebram has resigned from the party and the BJP is in the process of choosing one among three possible candidates. The loss of face after Bhojpuri actor-singer Pawan Singh opted out of the race from Asansol — after his name appeared as the nominee in the first list — has prompted the leadership to be careful about the fresh pick.

“Finding a good candidate for Birbhum, which is with Trinamul, is also taking time,” said a source.

A BJP leader in Calcutta said the nominees for Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, Raiganj and some other seats that would go to the polls in the first three or four phases might be announced over the next two days.

“State president Sukanta Majumdar and leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari are likely to meet theparty’s national leaders in Delhi on Saturday evening to finalise the candidates for all the remaining 23 seats,” he said.

“There is a possibility of announcing candidates for at least 10 constituencies that will go to the polls in the first three or four phases.”