Hooghly, 18 March (H.S.): Trinamool Congress has denied tickets to six sitting MLAs in Hooghly district while announcing its candidates for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections, triggering political chatter in the region.

Among the prominent names dropped is four-time Serampore MLA Sudipta Roy, once considered close to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. He has been replaced by party spokesperson Tanmoy Ghosh.

Party sources indicated that Roy was not fielded keeping in mind his age and health. Reacting to the decision, Roy said he has no grievances and would continue to work for the party.

Other senior leaders denied tickets include Saptagram MLA Tapan Dasgupta, Chinsurah MLA Asit Mazumdar, Pandua MLA Ratna De Nag, Balagarh MLA Manoranjan Byapari and Uttarpara MLA Kanchan Mullick.

The party has fielded new faces in several constituencies, with footballer Bidesh Bose from Saptagram and young leader Debangshu Bhattacharya from Chinsurah. From Uttarpara, it has nominated Sirsanya Banerjee, son of MP Kalyan Banerjee, while Ranjan Dhara replaces Byapari in Balagarh. Samir Chakraborty has been fielded from Pandua.

Mazumdar termed it a party decision and hinted at retirement from active politics, stressing the need to promote younger leadership. Ratna De Nag, too, backed the party’s decision and said she would campaign for the official candidate.

The party has, however, retained several incumbents, including Snehasish Chakraborty (Jangipara), Swati Khandkar (Chanditala), Becharam Manna (Singur), Karabi Manna (Haripal), Indranil Sen (Chandannagar) and Arindam Guin (Champdani).

The move is being seen as part of a broader strategy by the TMC to recalibrate its electoral approach in Hooghly, though some observers believe it could also pose challenges for the party in the district.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey