TMC hands over add’l responsibilities to key leaders

Cooch Behar: After wresting the Cooch Behar Lok Sabha seat from the BJP, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) state leadership has given additional responsibilities to three of its key leaders to ensure victory in the upcoming state Assembly election scheduled for 2026. Newly-elected Cooch Behar Lok Sabha MP Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia, North Bengal Development minister Udayan Guha and TMC district president Abhijit De Bhowmik were recently invited to a meeting in Kolkata with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

At the meeting, Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee instructed these leaders to focus on the upcoming Sitai Assembly by-elections and the 2026 state Assembly elections. She emphasised that these three leaders will be at the forefront of the party’s efforts moving forward.

Abhijit De Bhowmik said: “The three of us were invited to the meeting. Our leader Mamata Banerjee congratulated the workers on their incredible success in Cooch Behar. She praised everyone for working together and asked us to focus on the upcoming Assembly elections. We will begin preparations now, with our sights set on the 2026 state Assembly elections and the Sitai Assembly by-elections.”

According to district TMC leaders, one reason for Trinamool’s defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections was the poor relationship between several leaders and the then district president, Rabindranath Ghosh. Although Rabindranath Ghosh was subsequently removed from his position, the 2019 Lok Sabha election results still impacted the 2021 Assembly elections, where the BJP won 7 out of 9 Assembly seats in the district. However, the Trinamool later won the by-election for the Dinhata seat after the BJP’s winning candidate resigned, leaving the BJP with 6 out of 9 legislative assemblies in Cooch Behar.