There are a few surprises in the Trinamool Congress’s candidate list for the 2026 Assembly elections. While the list features several familiar star candidates, it does not see a significant influx of new celebrity faces this time.

Instead, the party has largely relied on known figures who have previously contested elections and, in many cases, also held ministerial responsibilities.

At the same time, some new faces have found a place in the list. So, which personalities from the film and sports worlds feature in Trinamool’s candidate lineup for the upcoming Assembly elections?

Karimpur: Soham Chakraborty

Barrackpore: Raj Chakrabarty

Baranagar: Sayantika Banerjee

Rajarhat Gopalpur: Aditi Munshi

Sonarpur Dakshin: Lovely Maitra

Manicktala: Shrreya Pande

Chandannagar: Indranil Sen

Saptagram: Bidesh Bose

Rajganj: Swapna Barman

Tufanganj: Shivshankar Pal

Balurghat: Arpita Ghosh

Among the notable names, Asian Games gold medallist Swapna Barman, who joined the Trinamool Congress just days ago, has been fielded from Rajganj, marking her electoral debut.

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Shrreya Pande, daughter of late Trinamool MLA Sadhan Pande and associated with the film industry, has been named the candidate from Manicktala. Bengal cricket figure Shivshankar Pal, currently serving as the bowling coach of the Bengal team, has been fielded from Tufanganj.

However, the party’s list does not feature a significant influx of new celebrity faces this time. Unlike previous elections, fresh entrants from the film or television industry are largely absent. Instead, Trinamool has re-nominated several familiar faces, including Raj Chakraborty, Sayantika Bandyopadhyay, Aditi Munshi, and Arundhati Maitra (Lovely Maitra), all of whom will contest from the same constituencies they had won in the last election.

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There had been widespread speculation around National Award-winning singer Iman Chakraborty being included in the list, but her name did not feature. Reacting to this, she told Ei Samay over the phone, “This is completely media over-hyped. Mamata Banerjee loves my songs; she is affectionate towards me. That doesn't mean I will contest in elections. But the bullying I faced for the last one and a half months was over this. The trauma I went through. Today I got the answer. I am an artist, my job is to sing.”

Since the change of power in the state, Trinamool’s candidate lists have often included surprising names from the film, television, sports, and music industries, with several such candidates going on to win in both Assembly and Parliamentary elections.

While new celebrity faces may be limited this time, the list includes several fresh entrants from other fields. Journalist Debdip Purohit has been fielded from Khardah, while Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP Ritabrata Bandyopadhyay will contest from Uluberia East.

Trinankur Bhattacharya, a prominent face of the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad, has been named a candidate from Noapara, and Kunal Ghosh will contest from Beleghata.

Basundhara Goswami, daughter of late RSP leader and former minister Kshiti Goswami and currently a councillor in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, has been fielded from Purbasthali Uttar.