Adhir eyes Beharampore comeback after 30 yrs, TMC says ‘not a factor’
Times of India | 20 March 2026
Kolkata: Senior Congress neta Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Thursday said he is set to return to legislative politics in Bengal after nearly three decades, expressing his wish to contest from the Beharampore assembly seat, subject to approval from the party high command and its central election committee.
Citing organisational weakness and lack of time, the five-time Lok Sabha MP said Congress has had limited focus in the upcoming elections but would seek revival from its traditional strongholds in central and north Bengal.
Chowdhury won the Nabagram assembly seat in Murshidabad in 1996 and vacated it three years later after winning the 1999 general election from Beharampore.
The former state Congress president went on to win four consecutive Lok Sabha elections from Beharampore before being unseated by Trinamool candidate and former cricketer Yusuf Pathan in a 2024 upset.
"I am a foot soldier of Congress and will do whatever the party asks me to. Under the current political circumstances in Bengal, the task is to keep the Congress banner flying high, and that's why the AICC pursued all senior state leaders to contest the polls. While some agreed, others didn't. I chose to accept the request," Chowdhury told PTI.
Chowdhury's entry sets up a high-profile triangular fight in the Beharampore assembly seat against the sitting BJP MLA Subrata Moitra (Kanchan) and the Trinamool candidate and Beharampore civic chief, Naru Gopal Mukherjee. Both BJP and Trinamool have already published their candidate lists.
Trinamool candidate Naru Gopal Mukherjee dismissed the challenge, stating, "He has nothing to give to Beharampore He did nothing though he was five times MP. He will not be a factor here. The fight will be between BJP and Trinamool and we will win as we stay throughout the year."
However, BJP candidate Subrata Moitra acknowledged the shift in dynamics, saying, "Obviously Chowdhury is a factor in Beharampore and I am hopeful people would support me considering my works."