Cooch Behar and North Bengal have emerged as crucial political battlegrounds in West Bengal, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the ruling Trinamul Congress (TMC) locked in a fierce struggle for dominance.

The region, which witnessed significant BJP gains in the 2019 Lok Sabha and 2021 Assembly elections, has seen a resurgence of the TMC in recent years, particularly in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Against this backdrop, the BJP has initiated a major organisational overhaul in North Bengal, including Cooch Behar, to strengthen its position ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.

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The BJP’s West Bengal leadership recently announced a series of changes in its organisational district presidents across North Bengal, including Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, and Malda. In Cooch Behar, Abhijit Barman has been appointed as the new organisational district president, replacing Sukumar Roy, the sitting MLA from Cooch Behar (Uttar). The party cited Roy’s inability to dedicate full time to organisational activities due to his legislative responsibilities as the reason for the change. Mr Barman, in his first remarks, expressed confidence that the BJP would win all eight Assembly segments in Cooch Behar in 2026, a region where the party had previously secured seven of the eight seats in the 2021 Assembly elections.

The leadership changes extend beyond Cooch Behar. In Jalpaiguri, Shyamal Roy has replaced Bapi Goswami to address internal conflicts within the party. In Siliguri, Arun Mandal has been re-nominated as the organisational president, while in Malda, Pratap Singh and Ajay Ganguli have taken over as presidents for Malda (Uttar) and Malda (Dakshin), respectively, replacing Ujjal Datta and Partha Ghosh. These changes reflect the BJP’s attempt to consolidate its base and address internal dissent in a region where it faces a formidable challenge from the TMC.

The TMC, however, has dismissed the BJP’s reshuffle as inconsequential. Cooch Behar TMC district president Abhijit Dey Bhowmik claimed that hundreds of BJP workers have already joined the TMC. Mr Bhowmik also highlighted the TMC’s growing influence in the region, stating that the party has regained control of 17 out of 24 gram panchayats in Cooch Behar that were previously under BJP control.

Adding to the BJP’s challenges, former North Bengal development minister and ex-Cooch Behar district president Rabindranath Ghosh, now the chairman of Cooch Behar Municipality, claimed that three BJP MLAs in Cooch Behar are in touch with the TMC and may defect before the 2026 elections. Mr Ghosh further asserted that more than 10 BJP MLAs across North Bengal could join the TMC, citing their inability to effectively serve their constituencies under the BJP banner.

The political dynamics in Cooch Behar and North Bengal remain fluid, with both parties vying for supremacy. While the BJP aims to retain its 2021 gains, the TMC is determined to reclaim its lost ground. The leadership changes in the BJP signal a strategic attempt to reinvigorate its organisational structure, but the TMC’s aggressive poaching of BJP workers and leaders poses a significant challenge. As the countdown to the 2026 Assembly elections begins, the political landscape of Cooch Behar and North Bengal promises to be a hotly contested arena, with both parties leaving no stone unturned in their quest for victory.