Dilip Ghosh’s wife Rinku applies for nomination for state polls

Ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections, Rinku Majumdar, wife of former Kharagpur MLA and senior BJP leader Dilip Ghosh, has formally applied to the party leadership seeking nomination as a candidate.

She has submitted her bio-data in accordance with party procedures. Mr Ghosh said there was nothing unusual about his wife’s move, asserting that any party worker is free to express interest in contesting elections. “She has been associated with the party longer than I have. I became an MP and MLA. She too has the desire to become a legislator. The party will decide who will be fielded and from where,” he said. According to BJP sources, several party workers have submitted applications to contest the forthcoming Assembly polls. Ms Majumdar, currently a functionary of the party’s Mahila Morcha, is learnt to have followed the same process.

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While speaking about her application, Ms Majumdar voiced dissatisfaction with a section of the party. Claiming a 13-year association with the BJP, she said she had been active in the organisation even before her acquaintance with Mr Ghosh. She questioned why she had not been given a ticket even in panchayat elections during this period.

“The leadership will decide what they want to do. But in 13 years, I should at least have been given an opportunity to contest the panchayat polls. Even if I had not married, I would have continued in the party. I have been sidelined for years. I will not accept this anymore,” she said. Mr Ghosh had won the Kharagpur Assembly seat in 2016 and later secured victory from Midnapore in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. In 2024, however, he was shifted to the Bardhaman-Durgapur constituency, where he lost to the Trinamul Congress candidate. At the time, dissenting notes were heard from him over the change of constituency. With speculation rife over whether Mr Ghosh will himself be fielded in the 2026 Assembly polls, Ms Majumdar’s assertion has added a fresh dimension to internal discussions within the state BJP unit.