Battle for Bengal: Trouble brewing for Mamata in Murshidabad?

West Bengal Elections 2026 | The Murshidabad belt in West Bengal has become the centre of intense political activity as the upcoming 2026 state elections approach, with the proposed Babri Masjid-style mosque in Rejinagar at the heart of the debate.

This region, traditionally a stronghold for Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC), is now shaping up as the most volatile battleground in the state due to religious polarisation stirred by the mosque project.

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Three adjoining assembly constituencies - Bharatpur, Rejinagar, and Beldanga - have turned into focal points of political contestation. These areas are home to a large Muslim population, historically a bedrock of TMC support. However, the proposed mosque project has significantly altered the political equation, hardening religious identities and threatening to fragment the minority vote that has long benefitted the ruling party.

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The mosque, envisioned as a model of the demolished Babri Masjid, is being built by Humayun Kabir, a suspended TMC MLA who now leads the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP). Kabir laid the foundation for the mosque in December 2023, and since then, the project has become an emotional rallying point for Muslim voters in the region.

Kabir, who had previously represented Bharatpur in the 2021 state elections, has shifted his focus to Rejinagar for the 2026 contest. His campaign centres around the mosque, which he claims is not just about religious symbolism but about restoring political dignity and respect for the Muslim community.

"This is not just about a mosque. It is about self-respect and political dignity," Kabir told news agency PTI.

Even a small shift in Muslim voters from the TMC to AJUP could significantly alter the electoral balance across adjoining constituencies. This is particularly true in Bharatpur, where Kabir secured over 43,000 votes as a TMC candidate in 2021. Bharatpur, situated near the Bangladesh border, is home to nearly 58 percent Muslim voters, although local estimates suggest the minority population could be even higher. 

Kabir still retains influence in Bharatpur despite no longer being in TMC. TMC's local leaders privately admit that sections of Muslim voters continue to see him as their most assertive voice, according to news agency PTI.

If those votes move with him towards AJUP in neighbouring Rejinagar, the TMC could face a split in its traditional support base, opening space for the Congress in Muslim pockets and the BJP in Hindu-dominated clusters.

The Babri mosque project has created a unique political equation. While it is galvanising support among some Muslim voters, it has also triggered concerns among the Hindu community. The BJP, which has gained traction in Bengal in recent years, sees the mosque as a tool to consolidate Hindu votes.

A senior BJP leader from Murshidabad was quoted as saying, "Every brick being carried in the name of Babri is helping consolidate Hindu votes in this belt. People see it as another example of appeasement politics."

The TMC, meanwhile, is worried about losing its hold over the Muslim electorate, particularly after Kabir's alliance with AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi. The party fears that the AJUP-AIMIM alliance could siphon away votes, especially among younger Muslims who feel disillusioned with both the TMC and Congress.

The dynamics in Murshidabad are compounded by the strong presence of the Congress and BJP, both of which aim to capitalise on the fracturing minority vote. In Rejinagar, where Kabir is contesting, he is trying to use the mosque issue to make the area the base for his new party.

Rejinagar has a 65% Muslim population, and Kabir won the seat in 2011 as a Congress candidate, but lost the 2013 bypoll after defecting to the TMC. Rabiul Alam Chowdhury of Congress bagged the seat twice in 2013 and 2016. However, in 2021, he himself switched to TMC and won the seat by over 68,000 votes. 

Meanwhile, the nearby Beldanga constituency, which is also influenced by the mosque project, has seen heightened tensions and increasing communal rhetoric. Beldanga, once a Congress stronghold, has become more contested after the TMC won the seat in 2021.

The BJP believes that the more the Babri mosque issue dominates the local political conversation, the more it can consolidate Hindu votes, especially in nearby Hindu-majority pockets.

A political analyst, Biswanath Chakraborty, described the three-seat region as a "laboratory of competitive communalism," where Kabir's attempts to turn Muslim identity into political capital are countered by the BJP's efforts to frame it as a Hindu consolidation issue.

(With inputs from PTI)