An undercurrent of discontent with the list of nominees seems to be running across the Trinamool Congress leadership in several districts of north Bengal.
Khageswar Roy, a four-time Trinamool MLA from Rajganj, Jalpaiguri, openly criticised the decision of dropping him and resigned from the district chairman’s post. Former minister Rabindranath Ghosh in Cooch Behar and former Alipurduar MLA Sourav Chakraborty have also vented their disgruntlement at not getting the party ticket in different ways.
Roy, who stepped down from the chairman’s post on Tuesday soon after Trinamool published its candidates’ list, said on Wednesday that he received offers from some other political parties.
“I also got a phone call from the Trinamool leadership and have made it clear that I need a ticket and not an organisational post. If I do not receive any positive response by tomorrow morning (Thursday), I will announce my political decision,” he said.
While there is some speculation that Roy might join the BJP, some sources indicated that such a move was unlikely right away.
Throughout Wednesday, Roy interacted with supporters at his residence in Belakoba. His close aides suggested that contesting as an Independent might be the most viable option.
Mahua Gope, the Jalpaiguri district Trinamool president, said they reached out to Roy. “We hope he does not take any decision against the party's interest,” she said.
The Trinamool leadership, along with members of IPAC, held a meeting at the district office in Jalpaiguri on Wednesday to draw up the campaign plan for heptathlete Swapna Barman, whom the party has fielded from Rajganj.
Sources said IPAC is carefully managing Barman’s public exposure, given her apolitical background. She is being trained on party messaging, media interaction, voter engagement, and key issues to target the Opposition.
In Cooch Behar, Rabindranath Ghosh, a prominent face of the party in the district since its inception in 1998, sounded disappointed.
He won the Natabari seat twice and served as a Bengal minister. In 2019, he was removed from the district president’s post. In 2021, he lost from Natabari.
Later, he chaired the Cooch Behar municipality, but was removed from the post a few months ago.
“I am a victim of a deep political conspiracy,” said Ghosh on Wednesday. "There’s nothing much to say… one doesn’t have to remain in politics forever. There comes a time to step aside. I have no regrets. The party decides everything — if I don’t have a ticket, how do I even contest?”
In Alipurduar, former MLA Sourav Chakraborty put up posts on social media on Tuesday night, which seemed to be sarcastically aimed at Suman Kanjilal. The posts alleged there had been much development in Alipurduar and polls would be carried out under the leadership of a person who had taken tenders for jobs worth around ₹200 crore.
Trinamool has fielded journalist-turned-politician Kanjilal from the seat. In 2021, Kanjilal had contested from the BJP and defeated Chakraborty. Later, Kanjilal defected to Trinamool.
Contacted, Chakraborty sounded restrained: “The posts were absolutely personal. Nobody should read anything political into them. If the party assigns me any work for the elections, I will do it.”
