Trinamool announces star-studded list of candidates, Mimi, Nusrat to make their political debut

The Mamta Banerjee led All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Tuesday announced the names of 42 candidates who will be the face of the party in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. This time, the party has given 41 per cent of seats to women candidates. The star studded list features names like Mimi Chakraborty, Nushrat Jahan and others. In total there are six candidates who are from the entertainment industry.

The party has dropped veteran actress Sandhya Ray and controversial star Tapas Paul. Other candidates related to the entertainment industry are Dev, Satabdi Ray, Munmun Sen and Arpita Ghosh. Nusrat Jahan will be contesting from Basirhat, which is widely expected to be a tough seat. Mimi Chakraborty will be contesting from Jadavpur, where the Left retains a significant votebank.

Here's a brief profile of the two actresses who will be making their political debut:

Mimi Chakraborty:

Mimi Chakraborty, a renowned Tollywood star is all set to make her political debut this year. Mimi will be fighting the upcoming Lok Sabha polls under Trinamool’s banner from Jadavpur. Although Mimi will be contesting from Jadavpur, she is originally from Jalpaiguri and her Kolkata connection started from her college days, when she did her graduation from Ashtosh college.

The actress rose to prominence with TV serial Ganer Oparey, where her character Pupe became the household name. Her first big hit was the tragic Bojhe na se bojhe na. The film won the hearts of many and placed her in an A-lister. Since then, the actress have been giving some memorable performances in movies like Proloy, Jamai 420, Ki Kore Toke Bolbo and others.

Like several tollywood cinestars, Mimi has been regular in big-ticket TMC events like Martyrs' Day remembrance on 21st July. She has also been seen in other cultural events which have active patronage of the state government.

Nusrat Jahan:

A former model, Nusrat Jahan is one of the most popular faces in Bengali movie industry. Nusrat did her first movie with Jeet in 2011. She has subsequently done movies like Crisscross, Bolo Dugga Maiki, Kelor Kirti, Har Har Byomkesh, Jamai 420 opposite A- listers.

Originally hailing from Kolkata, she has done movies with big banners and top stars in her relatively short acting career. She has a huge following on social media too.

Both Nusrat and Mimi are considered as very good friends.

During the announcement of the list, Mamata attacked the BJP and the Modi government, claiming she had information that "VVIPs" were using helicopters and chartered flights to transport money to bribe voters. Releasing the list, the West Bengal leader assailed the Centre over a host of issues including the Rafale deal, farm distress and shrinking employment opportunities.

Banerjee, also the TMC supremo, said the outgoing TMC lawmakers whose names do not figure in the list will be drafted for party work. She said 41 per cent of the nominees in the list are women.

The TMC, she said, will also contest some seats in Odisha, Assam, Jharkhand, Bihar and the Andamans.