West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026: Congress Unveils First List Of 284 Candidates, Fields Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury From Baharampur

The INC or Indian national congress issued its first list of 284 candidates for the West Bengal Assembly elections as it begins the process of campaigning within West Bengal in preparation for these upcoming elections and the timing is critical due to the highly competitive nature of the upcoming elections amongst all parties.

Included on this candidate list is Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who is a leader within Congress Party and will run for Baharampur in the West Bengal Assembly elections. The inclusion of Chowdhury is an important strategy for the Congress Party, which is trying to re-establish itself in West Bengal after poor election results in previous elections.

Congress’ Focus On Revival In Bengal

Congress is trying to regaining lost ground in Bengal due to a poor showing during the previous state assembly elections (zero state assembly seats in 2021). The party will focus on rebuilding its infrastructure, strengthening its organisation and candidates prior to the assembly elections.

According to media reports, the Congress Party has touted their commitment to running in a large number of district/constituency elections and will signifying their desire to compete strongly in the upcoming elections, as well this will demonstrate a planned departure from prior campaigns whereby the congress party only ran in select districts/constituencies in previous state assembly elections.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s Return

A major highlight of the list is Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, a long-time leader and ex-president of Congress’ West Bengal organization, who will play a significant role in leading the out-of-home campaign for the party and will run from Baharampur. 

Despite setbacks in his career (notably being defeated in 2024’s Lok Sabha elections), Chowdhury remains an important figure in West Bengal’s political landscape. The decision to run again tells us the party is relying on older, experienced leaders to rebuild the party’s base.

Strategy And Key Signals

The release of this first list of candidates is intended to signal Congress’ wider strategy to the electorate; coming out with key leaders early signals seriousness regarding the 2024 elections.

Additionally, there are both existing and first-time candidates on the first list, which signals the party is working to balance senior members and new energy so the party can re-establish ties with voters.

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