Mayor Gautam Deb, a veteran Trinamool Congress leader and former minister, on Wednesday informally launched his campaign for the Assembly elections by painting graffiti in Collegepara in ward 17 of the city — the locality where he resides.
Although the Trinamool leadership has not officially declared his candidature from the Siliguri Assembly constituency, Deb said he decided to begin preparations due to time constraints.
“We have very little time (before the Assembly elections), which is why we have begun preparations here. I have not formally started any election campaign so far, as I have been reaching out to people throughout the year and trying to provide the best possible civic services. If the party leadership declares my name as the candidate from Siliguri, we will include it in the graffiti,” Deb said while speaking with residents in Collegepara.
Recently, while attending an official event in the Dabgram-Fulbari Assembly constituency, Deb emotionally announced that he would not contest from it again and would instead return to his political base in Siliguri.
Deb had won the Dabgram-Fulbari seat twice — in 2011 and 2016 — but lost it to the BJP's Sikha Chatterjee in the 2021 Assembly election by a margin of around 27,000 votes. It was one of the shock defeats of Trinamool despite its triumphant return to power for the third time.
Following Deb's recent announcement, political circles were abuzz with speculation that Trinamool might field him from Siliguri in the 2026 polls.
In recent days, Deb’s administrative focus as the civic chief has also shifted noticeably toward the Siliguri Assembly area.
On Tuesday, he laid the foundation stones for more than 1,000 infrastructure projects worth approximately ₹35 crore. The projects comprise the construction and repair of roads, culverts, and bridges across areas under the Siliguri Municipal Corporation.
On Wednesday, the mayor attended a number of official events across the city.
“I have never been concerned about election results. I have contested nine elections, and only one did not yield the expected outcome. If my name is announced as a candidate from Siliguri, I will represent the people of all religions and communities and work for everyone,” Deb said.
Left Front councillors in the Trinamool-run Siliguri Municipal Corporation tore into the mayor’s claims on development initiatives. They said that in their campaign they would highlight the projects executed during the Left Front tenure.
“Major development projects — whether it is the Kanchenjunga Stadium or the fourth bridge over the Mahananda river — were implemented during the Left tenure. We will place these facts before the public during the election campaign,” said Nurul Islam, a senior Left councillor.