1 / 6In a state where politics has become synonymous with the TMC-BJP contest, certain key players outside the fold of the two parties reserve the potential to spring up surprises and expose fault lines in Bengal’s political landscape. Here’s a look at some of the possible candidates who have pledged to simultaneously take on both Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s TMC and the BJP in the upcoming assembly elections: (Image: Canva)
2 / 6Mohammed Salim: A veteran CPI(M) leader and West Bengal secretary, Mohammed Salim faced mixed electoral fortunes while managing his party’s decline from 176 seats in 2006 to zero in under two decades. A two-term Rajya Sabha member from 1990, Salim won a state assembly seat in 2001 and served as a Left Front minister. He entered the Lok Sabha in 2004 from Calcutta Northwest but lost in 2009 to TMC’s Sudip Bandopadhyay after delimitation. Shifting to Raiganj, he won in 2014 but lost in 2019 to the BJP, finishing third. In 2021, he lost from Chanditala (Hooghly) to the TMC. With critics from TMC and BJP claiming he picks favourable constituencies, attention now turns to which seat Salim will contest in 2026. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
3 / 6Humayun Kabir: MLA from Bharatpur (Murshidabad), Humayun Kabir had a turbulent political career marked by controversies. A former minister in Mamata Banerjee’s government, he made headlines in December 2025 for suggesting a Babri Masjid in West Bengal, leading to his TMC suspension. He soon launched the Janata Unnayan Party. Kabir first rose as a Congress leader, winning Rejinagar in 2011, then joined TMC and briefly served as minister before resigning in 2012. Expelled in 2015 for anti-party activities, he lost Rejinagar as an Independent in 2016, joined the BJP in 2018, unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, and then returned to TMC to win Bharatpur in 2021. Kabir remains one of Murshidabad’s most unpredictable political figures as the 2026 polls approach. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
4 / 6Minakshi Mukherjee: In her early 40s, the fiery youth leader of CPI(M) cut a sorry figure in the 2021 assembly polls from Nandigram, where she was pitted against Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari. She could garner only about 6,300 votes in a highly polarised election at Nandigram, which was narrowly won by the BJP’s Adhikari. That, however, never stopped Mukherjee from getting consciously thrust into the limelight by her party, endearing herself with the masses owing to her somewhat rustic but educated mannerisms and daring attitude. Having risen from the student and youth organisations of the CPI(M), she was inducted as a central committee member of the party in 2025. She continues to remain one of the most active figures in her party, embodying the party’s thrust on organically grown young blood. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
5 / 6Nawsad Siddique: Indian Secular Front (ISF) leader and the party’s lone MLA in the Bengal assembly wrested the Bhangar seat in 2021 from the TMC. ‘Bhaijan’ to his supporters, Nawsad’s party fought the previous polls in alliance with the CPI(M)-led Left Front, and is in discussions with the Front for a seat-sharing arrangement this time. A descendant of Muhammad Abu Bakr Siddique, the first Pir of Furfura Sharif, a prominent pilgrimage of Bengali Muslims commanding considerable sway in state politics, Nawsad claims he bases his politics not on religion, but on idealism and people’s issues like health, education and jobs. Siddique’s likely renomination from Bhangar could lead to a full-blown turf battle in the region. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
6 / 6Mausam Noor: The prominent political figure from Malda is expected to drive the Congress’s sinking poll fortunes in the 2026 polls in the district, following her recent return from the TMC. A former two-time Lok Sabha MP and later a Rajya Sabha member, Noor has long been associated with politics in Malda. Coming from the political family of veteran Congress leader ABA Ghani Khan Choudhury, Noor’s strengths include legacy support and parliamentary experience. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
