Trinamool versus Congress battle heats up in central Bengal

Veteran Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s campaign for the Berhampore Assembly seat in West Bengal faced repeated disruptions by Trinamool Congress supporters over the weekend. On Sunday (April 5, 2026), protesters raised the Trinamool flag and shouted slogans at the five-time former Congress MP until Central forces intervened to bring the situation under control.

Assembly elections: Follow LIVE updates on April 5, 2026

He faced opposition from the ruling party’s workers while campaigning in Berhampore town on Saturday (April 4, 2026) as well, but insisted that such protests would not deter him from reaching out to voters.

“We are conducting our election campaign programmes every day. All programmes are being carried out with the permission and knowledge of the Election Commission, yet the miscreants of the Trinamool are repeatedly trying to obstruct them. We will not stop — we will do it this evening too, and tomorrow as well,” Mr. Chowdhury had said on Saturday (April 4, 2026).

This Assembly election is a prestige fight for the Congress leader. Until a few years ago, his influence was felt across Murshidabad district, and he served as the leader of the party in the Lok Sabha for five years, from 2014 to 2019. In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, however, he lost the Berhampore Lok Sabha seat to cricketer-turned-Trinamool politician Yusuf Pathan, by a margin of 70,000 votes.

Return to Congress roots

In the adjoining Malda district as well, Congress leader Mausam Benazir Noor is posing a challenge to the Trinamool Congress which she had quit at the beginning of the year. Ms. Noor, who was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the TMC, has returned to her roots in the Congress and is now contesting the Assembly election from the Malatipur seat.

Ms. Noor is the niece of former Union Minister and veteran Congress leader A.B.A. Ghani Khan Chowdhury, whose family still holds sway over Malda. In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, her nephew Isha Khan Chowdhury was elected from Malda Dakshin seat, defeating both the Trinamool and the BJP.

‘Took everything and fled’

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has held three public meetings in Malda, targeted Ms. Noor on Saturday (April 4, 2026).

“Since Malda doesn’t have an [All India Trinamool Congress] AITC representative , we sent a lady from Malda to the Rajya Sabha. She resigned a month ago. We gave her a Lok Sabha ticket as well. I have no problem with the fact that she has joined another party, but you should not vote for her party. People like her took everything from AITC and fled when it was necessary to fight,” the Trinamool Congress chairperson said.

Muslim-dominated districts

Though the strength of the Congress has been severely diminished over the past few years, the party remains a formidable force in its previous bastions of Malda and Murshidabad. While Murshidabad, with its 22 Assembly seats, has a Muslim population of 70%, Muslims make up more than half the population in Malda, which sends 12 legislators to the State Assembly. In 2021, the TMC won 28 Assembly seats in these two districts, while the BJP won the remaining six.

Now, with Mr. Chowdhury and Ms. Noor seeking to revive the Congress’s electoral fortunes in the region, the ruling party is facing the heat. Though the Congress has not entered into any alliance with the Left Front this time, the party still has a sway over the region’s voters. Suspended Trinamool Congress MLA Humayun Kabir’s Aam Janata Unnayan Party has also fielded candidates in the district, turning it into a multipolar contest.