In a significant political shift ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections, Rajya Sabha MP Mausam Benazir Noor has left the state's ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and returned to the Indian National Congress. The move, formalized on Saturday, marks her homecoming to the grand old party after a seven-year hiatus and is seen as a major boost for the Congress's prospects in the crucial Muslim-dominated Malda district.
A Legacy Homecoming: Noor's Return to Her Political Roots
Mausam Benazir Noor, 46, began her political career with the Congress in 2008 from Malda, a district once considered a party bastion in the state. Her return, just three months before the state goes to polls, is not merely a personal decision but a reconnection with a deep-rooted family legacy. Her mother, Rubi Noor, was a four-time Congress MLA from Malda's Sujapur seat.
More notably, her uncle, Abu Barkat Ataur Ghani Khan Choudhury (Barkatda), was a Congress stalwart, an eight-time MP from Malda, and served as a Union minister under Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. Accompanied by her cousin and Malda South Congress MP Isha Khan Choudhury, Noor was reinducted at the AICC headquarters in Delhi.
"We have decided to strengthen the legacy of Barkat saheb. That can only be possible by staying in the Congress," Noor stated after her reinduction.
Strategic Impact on West Bengal's Electoral Map
Noor's defection is a strategic coup for the Congress, which has been in decline in West Bengal. Party insiders view her as a potential game-changer, especially in the minority-concentrated districts of Malda and Murshidabad. A senior Congress leader highlighted that discontent among minorities over issues like the Waqf law has created an opening that Noor's return can help exploit.
The Congress's performance in Malda has been a rollercoaster. While it won eight of the district's 13 seats in the 2016 Assembly polls, it drew a blank in the entire state in 2021. The 2019 Lok Sabha polls were the first time the party failed to win either of Malda's two parliamentary seats. However, Isha Khan Choudhury's victory from Malda South in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections provided a recent glimmer of hope.
Congress sources indicate that Noor will be a central face in the election campaign and is likely to be fielded from the Sujapur Assembly seat. Her term in the Rajya Sabha ends in April 2026.
Filling a Void: Noor as a Statewide Face for Congress
Internally, the Congress sees Noor's return as addressing a critical shortage of prominent faces, particularly women leaders, with a statewide appeal. While leaders like Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury remain strong, their influence is often region-centric. "In that sense, Mausam Benazir Noor may emerge as a woman face of the Congress in the state," a Congress insider noted.
Another senior leader pointed out that her return reinforces a key party principle: "the only enemy of the Congress is the BJP." This stance, they believe, could influence alliance dynamics, especially regarding a potential tie-up with the Left Front for the upcoming polls.
Mausam Noor's Political Journey: From Congress to TMC and Back
Noor's political trajectory has been eventful. After obtaining a law degree from Calcutta University in 2005, she entered active politics following her mother's death in 2008. She won the Sujapur bypoll in 2009 and later the Malda North Lok Sabha seat the same year, defeating the BJP's Khagen Murmu. She was re-elected as an MP in 2014 and was seen as part of Rahul Gandhi's inner circle of young leaders.
Ahead of the 2019 elections, she quit the Congress after her proposal for an alliance with the TMC was rejected. She joined the TMC and contested the Malda North seat on its ticket but lost to the same Khagen Murmu. The TMC later nominated her to the Rajya Sabha in 2020. Her return to the Congress fold completes a full circle, bringing with it the hope of reviving her family's and her party's fortunes in a critical region.
