Kolkata, 17 March (H.S.): The All India Trinamool Congress on Tuesday announced its candidates for all 294 seats for the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee set to contest again from Bhabanipur.

Unveiling the list from her Kalighat residence, Banerjee said the party has fielded 52 women candidates and sought to strike a balance between youth and experience.

She said leaders who have not been given tickets this time would be accommodated in organisational roles, expressing confidence that the party would improve its tally in the upcoming polls.

Banerjee, who had contested from Nandigram in 2021 and lost to Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, will return to Bhabanipur this time. The party has fielded Pabitra Kar from Nandigram, setting the stage for a keen contest.

Among key candidates, Firhad Hakim has been renominated from Kolkata Port, Sujit Bose from Bidhannagar, and Debasish Kumar from Rashbehari. Madan Mitra will contest again from Kamarhati, while Kunal Ghosh has been fielded from Beliaghata.

In North 24 Parganas, Jyotipriya Mallick has been renominated from Habra, while Debdeep Purohit has been fielded from North Dum Dum.

The party has also given representation to sportspersons and former officials, fielding Asian Games gold medallist Swapna Barman from a seat in Jalpaiguri and former police officer Prasun Banerjee from Chanchal.

Some sitting leaders have been dropped or shifted. Former cricketer Manoj Tiwary has not been given a ticket, while actor-MLA Soham Chakraborty has been shifted to Karimpur.

The list also includes multiple family members of leaders, with Ratna Chatterjee and Subhashish Das fielded from Behala Paschim and Maheshtala respectively, while Becharam Manna and his wife Karabi Manna have also been given tickets. Kalyan Banerjee’s son Tirthankar Banerjee has been nominated from Uttarpara.

In north Bengal, candidates have been announced for several seats, including Suman Kanjilal (Alipurduar), Subhash Roy (Falakata), Nirmal Roy (Dhupguri) and Krishna Das (Jalpaiguri).

Banerjee also announced that the party will not contest three seats in the Darjeeling hills.

Targeting the BJP and the Centre, Banerjee alleged attempts were being made to influence state politics using “outsiders” and described the election as a fight to protect Bengal’s identity.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey