BJP has so far received 1,753 applications, of which 40 per cent were by non-political persons, he said, adding, "For the first time a large number of people, mostly non-political, have come forward to contest for us in the forthcoming Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) civic poll."
"Shortlisting of candidates is being done through a strict process to ensure the party's priority to local area development. Even a celebrity candidate in our party for the KMC civic poll must be a resident of the area. There is no other reason behind delay in announcing our list of candidates," he said.
The state government has announced the date of election for KMC polls on April 18 and that of 92 other civic bodies on April 25. Notifications would be made on March 18 and March 25 respectively.
Siha described the Trinamool Congress' list of candidates for the KMC poll as a "list of some leaders and their family members" which only showed the corruption and manipulation in the party's working process.
Replying to a question, Sinha said the TMC government has not done anything for the minority sections in the state and its leaders had only involved themselves in corruption and loot.