Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee, seated alongside her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, released the party’s candidate list for 291 seats in the upcoming assembly elections on Tuesday, following the BJP’s announcement of 144 candidates a day earlier.
Mamata Banerjee will contest from her stronghold of Bhawanipore while leaving Nandigram to Pabitra Kar. In the 2021 elections, she narrowly lost Nandigram to Suvendu Adhikari by 1,956 votes. Despite Adhikari contesting from both Nandigram and Bhawanipore, TMC has opted for a cautious approach. Mamata refrained from commenting on BJP’s strategy, saying, “My fight for the party will continue, and I will win from Bhawanipore with maximum votes. My fight is not just in Bhawanipore but across 294 constituencies.”
Confident of a strong performance, the CM predicted TMC would secure 226 seats, comfortably surpassing the 148-seat majority mark. The party has left three North Bengal constituencies—Darjeeling, Kurseong, and Kalimpong—to its ally, Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), led by Anit Thapa. TMC acknowledges its limited presence in the hills, which have significant BJP support.
In a strategic overhaul, TMC has chosen not to field 74 sitting MLAs, instead nominating fresh candidates. The party is steering away from star-studded candidates from the Bengali film and music industry, a strategy previously used to connect with voters. Mamata Banerjee emphasized that her own leadership remains the primary vote-getter. The focus now is on candidates from diverse age groups and backgrounds who have proven their commitment to public service.
Abhishek Banerjee said the Trinamool Congress has fielded 86 SC/ST candidates, including 17 ST candidates. Around 50 women candidates are also contesting. Among TMC’s candidates, four are under 31 years of age, while 38 candidates, or 30 per cent, fall in the 31–40 age group. The 41–50 age group accounts for 48 candidates (31 per cent), and the largest group, 51–60 years, includes 89 candidates (32 per cent). There are 47 candidates (17 per cent) in the 61–70 age bracket, 23 candidates (8 per cent) in the 71–80 group, and two candidates (1 per cent) aged between 81 and 90.
The TMC is confident of winning the assembly elections for a fourth term riding on its people-centric approach and delivering on promises in the form of social welfare schemes for the rural voters, unemployed youth and muezzins and priests of the state. The winning bait has been the women-centric Lakshmir Bhandar scheme, which was initiated before the 2021 assembly elections.