Debtanu Bhattacharya, one of the 11 clusters-in-charge of the BJP in Bengal, filed his nomination as the party's second candidate from the Birbhum seat on Thursday.

Bhattacharya filed his papers two days after the official nominee and former IPS officer Debasish Dhar filed his nomination for the same seat.

A source in the BJP said the second nomination in Birbhum was part of the party's strategy to foil any chance of the saffron camp going unrepresented as the state government was yet to accept the police officer's resignation papers and Bengal's ruling party might use it to get his papers cancelled during scrutiny.

Dhar resigned as a police officer and last month the BJP announced him as the party's nominee for the Birbhum seat.
Dhar, contesting against three-time TMC MP Satabdi Roy, filed his nomination amid much fanfare on Tuesday for the Birbhum seat where polls will be held on May 13.

"Though the ministry of home affairs has given its clearance, the state government is yet to accept his resignation. We have inputs that the ruling Trinamool Congress has been planning to flag the issue, demanding the cancellation of Dhar's nomination paper," said a BJP leader in Calcutta.

Dhar was suspended as Cooch Behar police chief after four persons were killed when central force personnel had opened fire at a polling booth in Sitalkuchi on the polling day during the 2021 Assembly elections.

In 2022, the CID had also registered a case of disproportionate assets against him and raided his residence in that connection. He was in compulsory waiting before he resigned from his services.

"We did not want to take any risk at this time. We can't leave such an important seat, without a party nominee. So, the party decided to file a second nomination. In case something goes wrong, our second nominee will contest the election. If all goes right, Bhattacharya will withdraw his nomination," a BJP leader in Birbhum said.

BJP's Birbhum president, Dhruba Saha, when asked about the reason for the second nomination, said it was done on instructions of senior party leaders.

The BJP is mulling a similar ploy for the Jhargram seat. The party has fielded Pranat Tudu, a doctor at a government hospital in Jhargram, after he resigned from his services.