Malda's Sujapur Without Khan Chowdhurys: Congress Bets On Fresh Face To Erase Dynasty Tag

By Partha Das

Malda: Just as the Amethi constituency in Uttar Pradesh is famous for the Gandhi clans, the Sujapur constituency holds a similar stature in Malda's politics, celebrated for the Kotwali's Khan Chowdhury family.

With only minor exceptions, members of the Khan Chowdhury family have regularly contested state assembly elections from this constituency. An exception, however, is being observed in the 2026 elections.

This time around, no member of the Khan Chowdhury family is contesting from this seat. The AICC has announced Abdul Hannan as its candidate for Sujapur. Given that this constituency was traditionally regarded as the stepping stone for the Khan Chowdhury family members' parliamentary careers, why the departure from tradition this time? ETV Bharat sought to find the answer to the question.

The last delimitation process for parliamentary constituencies in West Bengal was completed in 2008, before the changes came into effect in 2011. The erstwhile Kaliachak constituency was bifurcated to create the Mothabari assembly constituency. Currently, the three blocks of Kaliachak are home to three distinct assembly constituencies: Mothabari, Baishnabnagar, and Sujapur. From 2011 through 2021, members of the Khan Chowdhury family had consistently contested—and won—every assembly election held in Sujapur.

The Sujapur Assembly constituency came into existence in 1957. Prior to that—in 1951—the late Abu Barkat Ataul Gani Khan Chowdhury contested for the first time as an independent candidate from the Kaliachak North constituency. He emerged victorious in that election. Subsequently, however, he contested from this constituency only intermittently. In 1957, independent candidate Manoranjan Mishra won the election in the newly formed Sujapur constituency. In 1962, Congress candidate Asadullah Chowdhury secured a victory. Since then, members of the Khan Chowdhury family have effectively reigned supreme over the Sujapur constituency.

Barkat Gani Khan Chowdhury emerged victorious in the elections held in 1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, and 1977. Following this period, he began contesting elections for the Lok Sabha. For this reason, during the Assembly elections of 1982 and 1987, Barkat fielded his protégé—lawyer Humayun Chowdhury—as the candidate for this constituency. Humayun emerged victorious on both occasions. According to sources within the Khan Chowdhury family, Barkat’s two brothers were residing abroad during that period.

His sister, Ruby Noor, also showed little interest in politics at the time. However, through much persuasion, her elder brother eventually ushered her into the arena of parliamentary politics. Ruby Noor formally entered parliamentary politics in 1991 after winning the election from the Sujapur constituency.

From that point until 2021, the AICC never even considered a name other than a member of the Khan Chowdhury family as the candidate for this seat. Following Ruby Noor's death, Abu Hasem Khan Chowdhury, Abu Nasar Khan Chowdhury, Mausam Noor, and Isha Khan Chowdhury have all subsequently won elections from this very constituency.

Much water has flowed down the Ganga and Fulhar rivers since then. Mausam Noor left the Congress to join the Trinamool Congress; she even held the position of district president. Representing the Trinamool, she was also elected as a Member of Parliament to the Rajya Sabha. Last January, she made her return to her former party. Both her defection and her subsequent return to the party have had a significant impact on Congress leaders and workers—particularly at the grassroots level. At the time, party leaders and workers claimed that Mausam's return had brought a refreshing breeze of change within the party ranks.

During the time, almost everyone in the party became convinced that Mausam would undoubtedly contest the upcoming 2026 Assembly elections. Everyone assumed she would return to her old stronghold, the Sujapur constituency—even after her elder brother, Isha, had suffered a defeat by a margin of over one lakh votes in that very seat during the 2021 elections. This assumption was reinforced by the fact that, during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Isha had secured a massive lead from Sujapur alone, contributing significantly to his overall victory margin of over one lakh votes.

No sooner had Mausam returned to the party than Congress workers across at least six constituencies in the district began petitioning the District Congress President to field her as the candidate in their respective seats for the upcoming election. These demands from the workers placed the district leadership in a quandary; consequently, they referred the matter to the State leadership and the AICC for a final decision. Following this, the AICC began strategically manoeuvring its pieces in preparation for the upcoming 2029 Lok Sabha elections. Mausam has been representing North Malda since 2009. She was elected as the Member of Parliament from this constituency in both 2009 and 2014.

In 2019, the Congress party once again fielded her as its candidate for the North Malda constituency. Although she lost to the BJP candidate, Khagen Murmu, in that election, she secured a significant lead within the Malatipur Assembly segment.

The Congress maintained its lead in the Malatipur segment during the 2024 elections as well. Consequently, the AICC decided to field her as the candidate for this specific constituency this time around. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Mausam is poised to be the Congress party's key contender for the North Malda constituency in the 2026 elections. In such a scenario—serving as the MLA for the North Malda constituency—she would be able to revitalise and strengthen her own organisational base, Congress top leadership feels.

However, political observers within the district believe that Mausam's battle in the Malatipur Assembly constituency will not be an easy one. Once again, the Trinamool Congress has fielded its district president, Abdur Rahim Bakshi, as the party's candidate for this seat. He had previously contested from this constituency in 2011, 2016, and 2021.

Having contested from the same constituency for such an extended period, he possesses a robust organisational presence in Malatipur. Furthermore, in the 2021 elections, the BJP managed to secure 18 per cent of the votes in this minority-dominated constituency—an election in which the Congress received a mere 11 percent of the vote share.

Moreover, Masud Alam had been striving for a long time to build up the party's organisational structure within this constituency. His supporters had specifically sought Masud as the candidate for this seat in the current election.

However, the top leadership has instead fielded Masud as the candidate for the English Bazar constituency. Consequently, questions remain regarding the extent to which Masud's followers will actively campaign for Mausam in this constituency.

Most importantly, the electoral battle in this seat is a four-way contest this time around. Furthermore, the number of voters whose names were excluded from the Supplementary Integrated Revision (SIR) list also looms as a significant factor. As a result, to secure victory in this constituency, Mausam will undoubtedly have to overcome several formidable obstacles.

While Mausam declined to comment on the matter, Isha Khan Choudhury, the district president of the Congress, told ETV Bharat, "The selection of a candidate does not rest with the district or state leadership; the final decision in this regard is taken by the AICC. This time, demands were raised to field Mausam as a candidate in at least 5-6 constituencies—the Sujapur constituency being one of them.”

The AICC has ultimately nominated her as the candidate for the Malatipur constituency. Following the announcement of the candidates, signs of resentment among party workers have been observed in various places.

According to Choudhury, no single constituency can remain the exclusive domain of any specific family. Therefore, even though local party leaders and workers had demanded Mausam as their candidate, Abdul Hannan has been nominated for that seat instead.

“Our objective is to see the Congress party regain its former stature in this district. To that end, everyone must set aside their grievances and hurt feelings and take to the field to ensure the victory of the party's candidates,” he added.