Overview
- The BJP's final candidate list, released Wednesday, named Rakesh Singh for Kolkata Port hours after he left jail on court-ordered bail.
- A Calcutta High Court bench led by Justice Kausik Chanda granted him bail till May 5 after BJP lawyers told the court the party planned to field him.
- The nomination pits him against Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim of the TMC, with voting in the constituency due on April 29.
- Singh began door-to-door outreach in the area Wednesday morning, even as cases under the Arms Act and other charges tied to the August 2025 Bidhan Bhawan vandalism remain pending.
- Political critics question fielding a candidate facing multiple cases, while BJP leaders defend him as a local figure targeted by police in a Muslim-majority TMC stronghold.