With the West Bengal Assembly elections likely to be held in April, a significant political development unfolded on Saturday afternoon as Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha MP Mausam Noor quit the ruling party and formally rejoined the Congress. The move is being seen as a major shake-up in the political landscape of North Bengal, particularly in Malda.
Mausam, whose term in the Rajya Sabha is set to expire in April this year, rejoined the Congress at the party’s New Delhi office in the presence of Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh and her brother, Malda South MP Isha Khan Chowdhury. Mausam said she had returned to the Congress to “strengthen the legacy of Ghani Khan Chowdhury in Malda.” She added that she had already sent her resignation letter to TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee and would formally resign from the Rajya Sabha on Monday.
Political observers believe Mausam’s return to the Congress was not solely driven by uncertainty over her renomination to the Rajya Sabha. As a prominent minority leader from Malda, it is widely felt that the TMC would have been reluctant to deny her another term. However, sources point to growing dissatisfaction within the party, with Mausam reportedly feeling sidelined and lacking political space. It was this gap, observers say, that the Congress capitalised on to bring her back into its fold.
Mausam’s exit is being viewed as an embarrassment for the TMC on the eve of the Assembly elections. The development comes close on the heels of TMC’s suspended Bharatpur MLA Humayun Kabir distancing himself from the party, which had already triggered instability in Murshidabad. With Mausam’s return to the Congress, similar tremors are now being felt in Malda.
Historically, Malda and Murshidabad have remained weak zones for the TMC. Even in the 2016 Assembly elections, when the party won over 200 seats statewide, it failed to secure a single seat in Malda. In the 2021 Assembly elections, following the Sitalkuchi firing incident, minority votes largely consolidated behind the TMC. Now, political analysts note a visible trend of influential minority leaders in these regions creating distance from the TMC, adding to the intrigue ahead of the polls.
Mausam had earlier been elected twice as a Congress MP from Malda South and was appointed president of the Youth Congress by Rahul Gandhi. While her tenure as Youth Congress chief did not yield major organisational success, she remained a key political figure in Malda by drawing on the legacy of Ghani Khan Chowdhury. This legacy made Malda a difficult terrain for the TMC for years.
The situation began to change after 2016, when Mamata Banerjee, following the party’s failure in Malda, appointed Suvendu Adhikari as district observer. Adhikari reportedly concluded that strengthening the party in Malda would be difficult without inducting a member of Barkat Sahib’s family. It was under his initiative that Mausam joined the TMC.
At present, the Malda South Lok Sabha seat is held by the Congress, while the BJP has won Malda North. Political analysts believe the renewed alliance between Mausam and her brother Isha Khan could exert fresh pressure on the TMC in the district.
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