TMC fields Goutam Deb from Siliguri, names candidates across north Bengal

The Trinamul Congress (TMC) has fielded Siliguri Mayor Goutam Deb as its candidate for the Siliguri Assembly constituency, where he will face BJP nominee Dr Sankar Ghosh, the sitting MLA.

Party sources said the TMC will put in its full strength to regain the strategically important Siliguri seat, often described as the gateway to the northeast.

Advertisement

Mr Deb, a former minister in Mamata Banerjee’s Cabinet on two occasions, had earlier represented the Dabgram-Fulbari Assembly segment in Jalpaiguri district. He was defeated in 2021 by the BJP candidate and has since been working in Siliguri in preparation for contesting from this constituency.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has also announced that the TMC has left three Hill seats to its ally, the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) led by Anit Thapa, under a seat-sharing agreement. The BGPM has already announced its candidates: sitting MLA Ruden Sada Lepcha from Kalimpong, senior Gorkha leader Amar Lama from Kurseong, and Bijoy Kumar Rai from Darjeeling.

In the Siliguri subdivision, the TMC has nominated Shankar Malakar ~ a former Congress leader who later joined the party ~ for the Matigara-Naxalbari Assembly segment. Malakar had earlier won this seat in 2011 and 2016. For the Dabgram-Fulbari constituency in Jalpaiguri district, the party has fielded Ranjan Seal Sharma, a veteran leader and councillor of the Siliguri Municipal Corporation.

The party has dropped four-time MLA Khageshwar Roy from the Rajganj Assembly segment and instead nominated noted athlete Swapna Barman. In Jalpaiguri district, sitting MLA Dr Nirmal Roy has been re-nominated from Dhupguri, while former minister Bulu Chik Baraik will contest from Malbazar.

In Cooch Behar district, North Bengal development minister Udayan Guha has been re-nominated from Dinhata, his sitting constituency. However, former minister Rabindranath Ghosh has been dropped. Party president Abhijit De Bhowmik and former MP Partha Pratim Roy have been nominated from Cooch Behar Uttar and Cooch Behar Dakshin respectively, while Shib Shankar Paul will contest from Tufanganj.

In Alipurduar district, Suman Kanjilal has been re-nominated from his seat along with other sitting MLAs in North Bengal.

In Malda district, the TMC has replaced a sitting MLA with former IPS officer Prasun Banerjee, who had earlier contested the Lok Sabha election from Malda Uttar. The party has also dropped former ministers Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury, fielding Asis Kundu from English Bazaar instead. Samar Mukherjee has been re-nominated from Ratua, while district president Abdul Rahim Boxi will contest from Malatipur. Party dropped another former Minister and sitting MLA Sabitri Mitra. But outgoing minister Sabina Yasmin has been asked to contest from Sujapur; she was earlier elected from Mothabari.

In North Dinajpur district, the party has re-nominated Hamidul Rahaman, Kanhailal Agarwal, Gulam Rabbani and Krishna Kalyani. In South Dinajpur, Arpita Ghosh will contest from Balurghat and Biplab Mitra from Harirampur, among other candidates.