Tensions are mounting in politically volatile Cooch Behar, as the Trinamul Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prepare for an all-out political showdown ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. The border district, long seen as a communal and electoral flashpoint, is once again under the spotlight—this time over allegations of infiltration and growing fears surrounding NRC-related actions.
On Tuesday, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari announced a new political campaign from Khagrabari, set to launch after Janmashtami. The campaign will focus on what he claims is rampant infiltration by Bangladeshi and Rohingya Muslims into West Bengal. The declaration has triggered an immediate counterattack from the TMC, with district president Abhijit Dey Bhowmik declaring that the ruling party will confront the BJP head-on, especially on the issue of NRC and attempts to intimidate local residents.
The attack on Suvendu Adhikari’s convoy in Khagrabari—allegedly by TMC supporters who damaged his bulletproof vehicle—has added fuel to the fire. While political observers say the BJP has gained sympathy and mileage from the incident, the TMC leaders like Udayan Guha, minister of North Bengal development, have dismissed the narrative.
“Suvendu Adhikari’s comments have insulted the people of Cooch Behar,” Guha asserted. “Branding them as Bangladeshis and Rohingyas has deeply hurt the local population.”
Returning to Kolkata via Bagdogra Airport, an animated Adhikari doubled down on his claims. “We chose Khagrabari for the campaign launch because I was attacked there by jihadi elements, allegedly linked to radical groups like Ansarul Bangla,” he said. According to him, around 1,500 people—80 per cent of them Muslims—emerged from a mosque between Khagrabari and Ghokshadanga to launch the attack.
Mr Guha swiftly rebutted, stating, “His statement has actually turned public sentiment in our favour. These were local people, not outsiders. Nearly 90 per cent of them are residents of Cooch Behar. Even if some were originally from Bangladesh, they are now part of our community—like us.”
North Bengal development minister Udayan Guha on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari during a press briefing in Dinhata.
“An FIR has been filed against me, but I’m not surprised,” Guha said.
According to sources, those named in the FIR include residents from Kalmati, Shalmara, and Nazirhat in Dinhata.
Targeting Adhikari further, Mr Guha said, “He accused me of attacking him with the help of Rohingyas. If that’s true, why aren’t there any Rohingya names in the FIR? Instead, it includes people from the Nashya Sheikh and Rajbanshi communities. No one has been identified as Rohingya, Bangladeshi.”
The TMC is now seizing this moment to mount its counter-offensive. “We are fighting this dangerous branding of locals as Bangladeshi and Rohingya,” said Guha. “This will only help us politically as we expose the BJP’s agenda.”
In line with chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s stand, district TMC leaders have swung into action. On Wednesday, Abhijit Dey Bhowmik led a protest rally in Hazrahaat village under the Mathabhanga Assembly segment, denouncing what he called “BJP’s NRC terror tactics.”
Bhowmik visited the family of Minati Seal Sharma, a resident of Cooch Behar’s Hazrahaat village, who has been asked to appear before a Foreigners Tribunal in Assam. He also met the Panchayat Pradhan Binama Roy who issued a residential certificate to Minati back in 2015 and is now also under scrutiny by the Assam Tribunal.
“On Mamata Banerjee’s directive, we have asked people and Panchayat Pradhan not to respond to notices from Assam’s Foreigners Tribunals,” Bhowmik said. “This is nothing but an attempt by the BJP-led Assam government to spread fear among rural families so that they fall into the BJP’s vote-bank trap.”
“We have clearly instructed residents not to produce any documents to the Assam government,” Bhowmik added.
“With tensions escalating, Cooch Behar has emerged as the epicentre of a fierce political showdown, where the BJP and TMC are locked in a battle over citizenship, identity, and fear,” according to political observers.