Kolkata: Ahead of the crucial 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, the BJP’s state unit has begun the process of deploying “vistaraks” (full-time workers) in all 294 constituencies across the state.
If the process proceeds as scheduled, the deployment of vistaraks for all 294 assembly constituencies will be completed by the end of this month. After initial training, these vistaraks will gather ground-level information on the political and social conditions prevailing in their respective constituencies.
Based on their feedback, the party’s state leadership will finalize election and campaign strategies for each constituency. The preliminary list of candidates to be shortlisted is already available. The total number of candidates is approximately 500. “Vistaraks” will be selected for 294 of these candidates. Some of these 500 candidates have prior experience working as “vistaraks,” while others are new candidates.
There will be eligibility criteria for the final selection of Vistaraks for the state’s 294 assembly constituencies. First, the candidate must be a voter in the respective assembly constituency, and second, they must have in-depth knowledge of the constituency’s social, geographical, and political situation, as well as the population by caste and religion.
The state committee member stated that preference will be given to those who are graduates and have sufficient knowledge of the party’s history. Additionally, those with a good record of working as Vistaraks will be prioritized. According to State BJP Vice President Rathindranath Bose, while Vistaraks have been appointed in West Bengal before important elections in the past, this time the process for compiling the list is more detailed.
This is why the process has begun at such an early stage. According to him, the party’s central leadership also wants to maximize the role of Vistaraks, and therefore, greater emphasis is being placed on the selection process.
