Trinamool Congress Fields 291 Candidates, Mamata Banerjee To Contest Bhabanipur

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has officially released its candidate list for the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, setting the stage for a high-stakes political battle in the state. Party chief and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that TMC will contest 291 out of the 294 assembly seats, leaving three seats in the Darjeeling hills for the Anit Thapa-led BGPM as part of an alliance arrangement.

Mamata Banerjee will once again contest from her stronghold in Bhabanipur, facing her former lieutenant-turned-rival, Suvendu Adhikari of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Senior minister Shashi Panja has been fielded from Maniktala, while actor-turned-politician Soham Chakraborty will contest from Chandipur. Other high-profile nominations include Jyotipriya Mallick from Habra, and veteran leader Madan Mitra, who has been shifted from Kamarhati to Baranagar.

The party has introduced new faces alongside established leaders. Former journalist Devadeep Purohit will contest from Khardah, while Prabhat Banerjee, son of MP Kalyan Banerjee, has been nominated from Uttarpara. Former BJP leader Pavitra Kar will take on Nandigram, a constituency that has drawn significant attention in recent years. Party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh is making his first Assembly election bid from Beleghata.

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Several ministers and prominent leaders will defend or shift their constituencies. Minister Becharam Manna and his wife Karbi Manna, Malay Ghatak from Asansol North, his brother Abhijit Ghatak from Kulti, and Kajal Sheikh from Murarai in Birbhum are among the nominees. In Kolkata, Debasish Kumar (Rashbehari), Firhad Hakim (Kolkata Port), Sujit Bose (Bidhannagar), and siblings Ratna Chatterjee (Behala West) and Subhashis Das (Maheshtala) have been fielded.

Debangshu Bhattacharya, who actively campaigned in the previous election but was not nominated, has been given a ticket from Chunchura this time. Meanwhile, some former candidates, including Kanai Mandal and former cricketer-turned-politician Manoj Tiwari, have been denied tickets, signaling a mix of continuity and strategic changes within the party.

The elections for the 294-member West Bengal Assembly are scheduled to be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29, with vote counting set for May 4. Political analysts note that the TMC’s candidate strategy reflects a careful balance between retaining popular leaders, introducing fresh faces, and navigating alliances, highlighting the competitive nature of the upcoming polls.

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