Trinamool wrested the Cooch Behar Lok Sabha seat from BJP in 2024 by a narrow margin. In the 2021 assembly elections, however, BJP had won six of the district’s nine seats, underlining the region’s volatility.
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In this assembly election, the two parties are locked in a tight contest across all nine constituencies-Mekliganj, MathaBhanga, Cooch Behar Uttar, Cooch Behar Dakshin, Sitalkuchi, Sitai, Dinhata, Natabari and Tufanganj.
The Rajbanshi community, which accounts for nearly 19% of the state’s Scheduled Caste voters, remains central to the political contest. Its support has historically shaped outcomes in North Bengal’s 54 assembly seats, prompting both parties to step up outreach. Recent developments indicate parallel efforts by both sides to consolidate this vote base.
Rajbanshi leader Anant Maharaj, a BJP Rajya Sabha MP, was conferred the state’s civilian award ‘Banga Bibhushan’ by CM Mamata Banerjee.
At the same time, BJP has brought another prominent Rajbanshi leader, Bangshibadan Barman, into its fold. Both leaders head rival factions of the Greater Cooch Behar People’s Association. While Maharaj and Barman shared the stage at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent rally in Cooch Behar, Trinamool has fielded Harihar Das-seen as close to Maharaj-from the Sitalkuchi seat. BJP, in contrast, has nominated Ashutosh Verma from Sitai and Girijashankar Roy from Natabari, both linked to the Barman faction of GCPA. Barman, who heads the state’s Rajbanshi Development Board, had backed Trinamool in earlier elections. Both parties have prioritised Rajbanshi representation in candidate selection across the region.
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BJP has also dropped six MLAs, opting for new faces. Former MP Nisith Pramanik will contest from the Mathabhanga seat as part of the party’s renewed push. Organisationally, BJP claims to have strengthened its grassroots network. “We strengthened the party’s booth committees almost a year ahead of assembly polls. In our organisational district of Cooch Behar, 2,120 booth committees exist today,” Manoj Ghose, BJP’s district general secretary, told ET.
Trinamool, meanwhile, is attempting to make the SIR of electoral rolls a key campaign issue. BJP leaders, however, see the exercise as advantageous.”Unlike the past elections, infiltrators will not get any scope to politically damage our party’s base in this region,” BJP’s Cooch Behar president Abhijit Barman told ET, adding that Rajbanshi leader Bangshibadan Barman has been campaigning extensively for the party.
With both sides sharpening their strategies, Cooch Behar is set for a closely fought contest where community equations are likely to play a decisive role.
