Kolkata: The Indian National Congress has decided to contest the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections independently, marking a departure from its long-standing alliance politics in the state. After a delay following the announcement of polls, the party on Sunday released its first list of candidates for 284 out of 294 seats, underscoring its intent to put up a statewide fight.
As anticipated, senior leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has been fielded from Berhampore in Murshidabad. Among its key leaders, Chowdhury remains a significant figure in Bengal Congress politics. He first contested the 1991 Assembly elections from Nabagram and lost. In 1996, despite reportedly being listed as ‘absconding’ in police records at the time, he contested again from the same seat and won.
He later entered national politics, winning the 1999 Lok Sabha election from Berhampore by defeating an RSP candidate.
Chowdhury went on to represent the constituency five consecutive times as a Congress MP, before losing to Yusuf Pathan in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Another notable inclusion is Mausam Noor, a former Trinamool Congress MP, who has been nominated from Malatipur in Malda. The party is banking on leaders like Chowdhury and Noor to regain lost ground in Murshidabad and Malda—once considered Congress strongholds.
In Kolkata, lawyer-leader Ashutosh Chatterjee has been fielded from the Rashbehari constituency, signalling an attempt to project credible urban candidates.
The decision to go solo comes despite earlier concerns within the party over the impact of its alliance with the CPI(M). Several senior leaders had argued, even before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, that the tie-up had eroded the party’s independent base in Bengal.
The Congress’s solo push signals a high-risk, high-stakes strategy—aimed at revival but facing stiff competition in an increasingly polarised political landscape.