Kolkata, Mar 15 (PTI) In a state where politics has become synonymous with the TMC-BJP contest, certain key players outside the fold of the two parties reserve the potential to spring up surprises and expose fault lines in Bengal’s political landscape.
Here’s a look at some of the possible candidates who have pledged to simultaneously take on both Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s TMC and the BJP in the upcoming assembly elections: Mohammed Salim: The veteran CPI(M) leader and party’s West Bengal secretary has had mixed fortunes at the hustings. He also shoulders the responsibility to manage an electoral turnaround for his party in the state as its tally has reduced from 176 seats (of the 235 bagged by the Left Front) in 2006 to zero in less than two decades.
Having remained a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1990 for two terms, Salim won the 2001 state assembly polls and was inducted as a minister in the then Left Front government.
In 2004, he went to the Lok Sabha after winning the Calcutta Northwest constituency, only to lose the next polls in 2009 to TMC’s Sudip Bandopadhyay from the newly formed Calcutta North seat following delimitation of seats.
Salim shifted candidature to north Bengal’s Raiganj after that, winning the seat in 2014, but subsequently losing it in 2019 to the BJP while reaching the finish line as a distant third after the TMC.
In the 2021 state polls, he lost again to the TMC from Chanditala constituency in Hooghly.
In the wake of sustained claims from the TMC and the BJP that the CPI (M) politburo member has always chosen seats suitable to him and has not stuck to the constituency from where he lost, it will be interesting to see which seat Salim chooses in the 2026 polls.
Hyumayun Kabir: The MLA from Bharatpur in Murshidabad has rarely been far from political controversy. A former minister in the Mamata Banerjee government, Kabir grabbed national headlines in December 2025 after suggesting that a Babri Masjid be constructed in West Bengal, triggering a fierce political storm and leading to his suspension from the TMC.
Within days, the mercurial leader floated the Janata Unnayan Party, adding another twist to a career marked by sharp turns, public confrontations and headline-grabbing remarks.
Kabir emerged on the state’s political map as a Congress leader, winning the Rejinagar assembly seat in 2011 from the minority-dominated Murshidabad belt.
He later switched to the TMC and was inducted into the first Banerjee ministry, but his stint in power proved short-lived as he resigned from the assembly in 2012 amid differences. Relations with the TMC leadership deteriorated further, culminating in his expulsion in 2015 for alleged anti-party activities.
Kabir attempted to retain his Rejinagar base as an Independent in the 2016 assembly polls but lost, marking a temporary dip in his otherwise turbulent political trajectory.
Kabir joined the BJP in 2018 and unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha polls from Murshidabad a year later.
He returned to the TMC following the expiry of his expulsion term and won the Bharatpur seat in 2021, reasserting his influence in the district’s complex minority-dominated political landscape.
But controversy continued to shadow him, reinforcing Kabir’s image as one of Murshidabad’s most unpredictable and combative political actors as the region heads into another electoral battle.
Minakshi Mukherjee: In her early 40s, the fiery youth leader of CPI(M) cut a sorry figure in the 2021 assembly polls from Nandigram, where she was pitted against Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari. She could garner only about 6,300 votes in a highly polarised election at Nandigram, which was narrowly won by the BJP’s Adhikari.
That, however, never stopped Mukherjee from getting consciously thrust into the limelight by her party, endearing herself with the masses owing to her somewhat rustic but educated mannerisms and daring attitude.
Having risen from the student and youth organisations of the CPI(M), she was inducted as a central committee member of the party in 2025. She continues to remain one of the most active figures in her party, embodying the party’s thrust on organically grown young blood.
Nawsad Siddique: Indian Secular Front (ISF) leader and the party’s lone MLA in the Bengal assembly wrested the Bhangar seat in 2021 from the TMC.
‘Bhaijan’ to his supporters, Nawsad’s party fought the previous polls in alliance with the CPI(M)-led Left Front, and is in discussions with the Front for a seat-sharing arrangement this time.
A descendant of Muhammad Abu Bakr Siddique, the first Pir of Furfura Sharif, a prominent pilgrimage of Bengali Muslims commanding considerable sway in state politics, Nawsad claims he bases his politics not on religion, but on idealism and people’s issues like health, education and jobs.
Siddique’s likely renomination from Bhangar could lead to a full-blown turf battle in the region.
Mausam Noor: The prominent political figure from Malda is expected to drive the Congress’ sinking poll fortunes in the 2026 polls in the district, following her recent return from the TMC.
A former two-time Lok Sabha MP and later a Rajya Sabha member, Noor has long been associated with politics in Malda.
Coming from the political family of veteran Congress leader ABA Ghani Khan Choudhury, Noor’s strengths include legacy support and parliamentary experience. PTI AMR PNT SCH SMY BDC BDC
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