TMC's candidate list for upcoming Assembly polls betrays damage control bid: Opposition
Telegraph | 18 March 2026
The Opposition on Tuesday alleged that the Trinamool Congress list for the Assembly polls bore the imprint of a “corruption-ridden dispensation” attempting damage control.
Leaders of the BJP, CPM and the Congress raised specific questions over the renomination of food minister Jyotipriya Mallick from Habra despite his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in October 2023. He was arrested in connection with the alleged ration distribution scam.
However, tainted figures such as former education minister Partha Chatterjee and Manik Bhattacharya were denied tickets.
Among the prominent exclusions from the list are Ratna De Nag (Pandua), Mukutmani Adhikari (Ranaghat South), Sudipta Roy (Serampore), Manoranjan Byapari (Balagarh), Asit Mazumdar (Chinsurah) and Kalyan Ghosh (Domjur).
Senior Trinamool leaders sought to present the changes as part of a calibrated and performance-driven selection process.
“It is not unusual to drop sitting MLAs. Selection is based on performance, track record, grassroots connect, organisational acumen, transparency and overall acceptability among people,” a senior leader in Calcutta said.
The Opposition dismissed this explanation as an attempt to mask political vulnerability.
A BJP leader in Calcutta said: “Mamata Banerjee has read the writing on the wall. She has no option left. Her governance has collapsed and she knows that doles will not be enough to save her regime this time.”
Speaking in New Delhi, Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said: “The countdown to the fall of the Trinamool Congress government has begun. Mamata Banerjee has not dared to experiment this time. Whatever changes she makes, it is sure that her government will not exist after May 4.”
Trinamool dropped at least 74 sitting MLAs and shifted around 15 MLAs to different constituencies. Picking a hole in the strategy, the Opposition described the move as a tacit admission of anti-incumbency and organisational strain.
Referring to the contest in Nandigram, where the Trinamool has fielded a former BJP functionary against Suvendu Adhikari, Bhattacharya said: “Trinamool is trying to survive desperately. People have already said goodbye to Mamata Banerjee. Dropping 74 MLAs will not change that reality.”
CPM leader Sujon Chakraborty offered a different interpretation, attributing the exclusions to internal power struggles rather than governance concerns.
“If corruption had been the criterion, Jyotipriya Mallick would not have been renominated from Habra. Those who were dropped lacked influence in the party’s internal power structure,” Chakraborty told The Telegraph.
The Congress echoed similar concerns, with state spokesperson Suman Roy Chaudhuri arguing that the list itself amounted to an admission of systemic issues.
“The massive exclusion of 74 sitting MLAs from the list indicates that Trinamool has acknowledged that corruption and anti-incumbency have engulfed Mamata’s team,”
he said.
The Congress also questioned Trinamool’s claims of promoting women’s empowerment.
“Only 51 women have been fielded when the state has 294 seats. Does this reflect the women’s empowerment that the Trinamool supremo speaks of?” the Congress spokesperson asked.