KOLKATA: The increasing traction of the BJP’s polarisation strategy on Hindus for the 2026 Assembly polls in West Bengal has triggered a reaction among Muslims. It has forced Muslims to band together in support of Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress. However, this support will come at a price for Mamata Banerjee. According to sources, in many minority-dominated seats, keeping demands of the minority community leaders in mind, the Trinamool Congress has decided to replace its sitting Hindu MLAs and nominate Muslim candidates in their place.
“In each and every interaction with the Muslim community leaders, Didi (Mamata Banerjee) is being requested to nominate more members from the community,” said a Trinamool Congress leader.
Trinamool Congress sources say that two surveys undertaken in the recent past have revealed voter dissatisfaction with many incumbents. “Realising that Didi (Mamata Banerjee) has little choice, minority leaders and even party leaders who are Muslim are pushing for greater representation of their community,” said a party leader. Already 35 seats have been identified in which the incumbents will be shown the door.
According to sources, among the constituencies in which incumbents will be shown the door are Islampur, Minakhan, Sandeshkhali, Canning Paschim, Magrahat Purba, Falta, Nalhati, Mangalkot—all of which have substantial Muslim populations.
In many seats, the reason for voter dissatisfaction stems from factors such as non-performance and old age.
Charges of involvement in the multi-crore jobs for cash scam has forced the Trinamool to look for fresh candidates for Behala Paschim, Mekhliganj and Burwan seats. The incumbents in these seats are former Education Minister Partha Chattopadhyay, Paresh Chandra Adhikari and Jiban Krishna Saha.
On July 22, 2022, Chattopadhyay was arrested from his residence by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the alleged State School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment scam cases along with his aide, actress Arpita Mukherjee. The ED recovered cash, gold, foreign currency totalling more than Rs 100 crores and coded diaries detailing properties related to him and Arpita Mukherjee.
Another change will be seen in Mekhliganj, where the incumbent Paresh Chandra Adhikari is set to be replaced. He was accused of getting an out-of-turn government job for his daughter. Following the revelation, his daughter lost her job and had to refund all her remuneration on the orders of the Calcutta High Court.
Burwan’s MLA Jiban Krishna Saha was another accused in the education scam. He gained notoriety when on April 14, 2023, the CBI raided his house. It is seen that he threw his two phones in the pond to escape from the CBI and also tried to escape from the top of his boundary wall but failed in the end. The CBI had to drain out the pond in a 65-hour operation to retrieve his two phones. The CBI later claimed in court that they had gathered huge information about Saha’s involvement.
In Jalpaiguri, charges of non-performance have been made against the incumbent Dr Pradip Kumar Barma.
In Islampur, Abdul Karim Chowdhury, a long-time MLA is set to be replaced. As is Goalpokhar MLA Md Ghulam Rabbani.
Lack of connect with voters is the reason for Harirampur MLA Biplab Mitra’s imminent exit.
In Ratua and Swarupnagar, the TMC is looking for young faces to replace Samar Mukherjee and Bina Mondal respectively.
Aditi Munshi, a singer who was personally selected by Mamata Banerjee in 2021, may make way for her husband, who is a young, influential and controversial Trinamool leader with close ties with Trinamool’s crown prince Abhishek Banerjee.
Actor Chiranjit Chakraborty, who has represented Barasat for the past three terms, is set to be replaced as well. He has been expressing his desire to quit for quite some time.
Sandeshkhali, which hit the headlines before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls when Trinamool strongman Sheikh Shahjahan and his aides were charged with torture and atrocities on women, may get a new MLA in place of Sukumar Mahato. However, the new face will be someone equally close to Shahjahan, say sources.
Other incumbents who are expected to feature on the list of discards are Paresh Ram Das from Canning Paschim, Namita Saha from Magrahat and Sankar Kumar Naskar from Falta. All three are set to be replaced with candidates close to Trinamool Congress heir apparent Abhishek Banerjee.
Behala Purba MLA Ratna Chattopadhyay may also make way for her estranged husband and former Kolkata Mayor Sovan Chattopadhyay, who has been angling for a re-entry into the Trinamool Congress after leaving in a huff more than five years ago.
One big surprise on the list is the name of Chandrima Bhattacharya, the state finance minister who also holds the post of junior health minister. Though her disconnect with the electorate of her Dum Dum North constituency has been cited as a reason, she enjoys the confidence of Mamata Banerjee and will probably be shifted to a seat in south Kolkata.
Another surprise is Madan Mitra, who represents Kamarhati and is known as an ardent and long-time follower of Mamata Banerjee despite being sidelined for long. He may be replaced on grounds of age. Trinamool Congress sources say that his departure has been hastened by the mutual dislike he shares with Abhishek Banerjee.
Political observers in Bengal say the TMC is truly concerned about the BJP’s polarisation strategy, which was successful in wooing Hindu voters in Maharashtra and Delhi in recent elections.
“TMC is aware that the BJP lacks a strong grassroots organisation or a dedicated vote bank from beneficiaries of direct money transfer schemes. However, the BJP’s ‘Hindus are in danger’ narrative proved effective in Maharashtra and Delhi. This success is playing on the TMC’s mind. That is why, the Trinamool will not step back from taking tough decisions,” said political scientist Biswanath Chakraborty.
“Bengal voters differ significantly from those in Delhi or Maharashtra. Bengal has a larger number of liberal Hindu voters, which is likely to benefit Mamata Banerjee. But on the other hand, pitching a narrative of Hindu oppression is easier for the BJP in Bengal, since the Chief Minister openly woos minority voters,” Chakraborty added.
A TMC source stated that the party is focusing more on districts where they lost in the previous polls.
“In north Bengal, the party is working intensely in Malda and North Dinajpur, where the TMC lost all four Lok Sabha seats last year. Interestingly, both districts have minority populations of around 50 per cent. It indicates the TMC is attempting to break the BJP’s dominance in Hindu vote banks