For a victory lap in north Bengal, Trinamool fields ex-cricketer, athlete

An Asian Games gold medal-winning athlete and a former first-class cricketer who represented Bengal in the Ranji Trophy are the Trinamool Congress candidates taking on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominees in north Bengal.

Swapna Barman, the first Indian heptathlete to win an Asian Games gold in 2018 is the Trinamool candidate from Rajganj Assembly seat in the State’s Jalpaiguri district. On Monday, the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) authorities formally accepted her resignation and issued her a clearance letter to contest the West Bengal polls.

The celebrated athlete, who joined the ruling party weeks before the polls on February 27, 2026, has come to realise that sports and politics are different disciplines.

Swapna Barman, the first Indian heptathlete to win an Asian Games gold in 2018 is the Trinamool candidate from Rajganj Assembly seat in the State’s Jalpaiguri district. 
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“Sports is a very different field and cannot be compared with politics. In sports, individual dedication and hard work matters and brings success. In politics, everything is dependent on the will of the people,” Ms. Barman told The Hindu. The 29-year-old, who hails from Jalpaiguri, is promising that if elected, she will try and set up a sports academy in her constituency. “I want many Swapna Barmans to emerge from North Bengal,” she said.

The athlete, who has won multiple medals at national and international events, suffered a personal tragedy when her father Panchanan Barman died recently. Often seen posing with tea garden workers, Ms. Barman describes herself as “the local daughter who does not need an introduction” and who has been sent by Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee.

Hailing from the Rajbangshi community, Ms. Barman grew up in Jalpaiguri and won many laurels, including the prestigious Arjuna Award. “The people in my constituency are very simple, they just want peace and development. I will strive for that,” she said.

The athlete is contesting against BJP’s Dinesh Sarkar, who has links with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. The CPI(M) has fielded Kharendranath Roy from the area dotted by tea gardens.

About 150 km from Rajganj is the Tufanganj Assembly seat in the Cooch Behar district, where former first-class cricketer Shib Sankar Paul is the election fray on a Trinamool ticket. The 46-year-old was a right-arm fast bowler and had represented the Bengal cricket team for several years. He joined the Trinamool on March 16, a day before the party announced candidates for the polls.

“I prepare for poll campaigns like I used to prepare for a match. I exercise, then I do my homework about the place I am visiting,” said the former cricketer who was also included in India’s Test squad during the 2004–05 series against Australia.

Mr. Paul says that both cricket and politics do not come easily to anyone. “Playing cricket is very difficult, no one can say they will get these many runs or wickets. Same way politics is also difficult… But I feel happy that I can reach people and understand their problems,” he said.

The former bowler says than when he was playing or coaching, he could help only a handful of people, but after joining Trinamool and contesting polls, he hopes that he can come to the aid of the masses. He is contesting against BJP’s two-term MLA Malati Rava Roy who has served as a district president of the party. The CPI(M) has fielded Dhananjay Rava.

In the past, the Trinamool has fielded several candidates from the Bengali television and film industry, but this time the party has pinned hopes on sportspersons to revive its prospects in north Bengal.