Protests, dejection and call for retirement after several Trinamool Congress MLAs lose the ticket
The Hindu
Protests erupt among Trinamool Congress supporters as 74 MLAs are dropped from candidacy for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly polls.
A day after the Trinamool Congress announced candidates for the 2026 West Bengal Assembly polls, discontent surfaced among several senior party leaders who were denied a ticket.
Protests erupted at Amdanga in the State’s North 24 Parganas on Wednesday (March 18, 2026) after supporters of three-time MLA from Amdanga, Rafiqur Rahaman, were denied a ticket. His supporters blocked roads and burnt tyres while Mr. Rahaman urged the party leadership to reconsider their decision.
The Trinamool Congress has replaced the MLA with Peerzada Kasem Siddiqui, who hails from a family of religious leaders from Furfura in south Bengal.
Protest erupted at Jibantala in Canning Purba Assembly seat in South 24 Parganas after the party decided to field sitting MLA Saokat Molla from the Bhangar Assembly seat in the same district. Mr. Molla, an influential leader, wants to contest from Canning Purba. His supporters blocked roads by burning tyres at Jibantala. Bhangar was won by the Indian Secular Front (ISF) in the 2021 Assembly polls.
In the list of candidates announced on Tuesday (March 17, 2026), Trinamool Congress has dropped around 74 legislators and shifted another 15 MLAs to different constituencies. Several senior MLAs of the party expressed their anguish and said that they will go into political retirement.
Senior Trinamool MLA Asit Majumdar has been denied a ticket from Chinsurah and the party named Debangshu Bhattacharya as the candidate from the seat instead. Mr. Majumdar, who looked visibly upset, said that he has reached out to Trinamool general secretary Abhishek Banerjee over the development, and added that he was considering political retirement.
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