Why ‘Barkat’ factor looms large over Malda poll turf

Two decades after his death, ABA Ghani Khan Choudhury continues to anchor Congress’s electoral pitch in Malda, with the party foregrounding his enduring legacy as campaigning for the 2026 assembly election enters its last round.

In a district where his imprint still shapes political memory and voter behaviour, Congress seeks to convert nostalgia into votes in a close contest.



This has been reinforced by Mausam Benazir Noor’s return to Congress after a seven-year stint with TMC. Noor, the late leader’s niece and a two-time MP, is now contesting from Malatipur. Her comeback is positioned as both a political recalibration and an attempt to revive the emotional connect associated with the Khan Choudhury family.

Her return is now being seen as a test of whether the so-called “Barkat da factor” — the enduring appeal of Ghani Khan Choudhury — still holds electoral weight. “We belong to Ghani Khan’s family, and people believe we continue his legacy. Thus, we have a lot of responsibility and obligation as well,” Noor said. “Our party is not in govt in either the state or the Centre, but in Malda, Ghani Khan Choudhury’s legacy keeps Congress relevant and strong.”

Campaigning at Maharajpur village in Malatipur, Noor acknowledged the fallout of her 2019 exit from Congress. “When I left Congress, I hurt many feelings, especially of the Gandhi family, as Ghani Khan Choudhury and Sonia Gandhi were very close. But the situation got sorted after I returned. I am personally happy to be back to my roots and family,” she said.

Noor had quit Congress after the state leadership rejected her push for an alliance with Trinamool.

Outside the Congress fold, however, her electoral fortunes dipped. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, she lost to BJP’s Khagen Murmu, in a break from the electoral dominance long associated with her uncle’s bastion.

In Malda town, the Congress campaign is being spearheaded by Malda South MP Isha Khan Choudhury, the next-generation face of the family, who has emerged as the party’s most visible face in the district.

“Ghani Khan Choudhury’s legacy inspires us every day and it is that very legacy and the people’s love for our family that keeps Congress so strong in this part of Bengal even today,” the MP told TOI . “We believe in his strategy of standing next to the people of Malda, even if we are not in govt,” he added, sitting next to garlanded photographs of Ghani Khan and Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury (Isha’s father and Ghani’s brother) at the family home in Kotwali.

Ghani Khan Choudhury, a Union minister under Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, is still remembered in Malda for expanding railway connectivity and driving infrastructure development. His style of politics helped build a durable support base that continues to influence voters.

Congress, however, now faces a far more complex political landscape. In the 2021 assembly elections, it failed to win a single seat in Malda, even as TMC secured eight of the district’s 12. BJP, which has made steady inroads since 2019, holds four seats, turning the fight into a triangular contest.

TMC has sought to reinterpret the legacy. “We respect Ghani Khan Choudhury, and take inspiration from what he did for Malda,” said Abdur Rahim Boxi, the Trinamool MLA from Malatipur, Noor’s principal rival. Boxi had won the seat in 2021 by a margin of over 91,000 votes.

BJP, meanwhile, is campaigning on development, attempting to expand its footprint and capitalise on shifting voter alignments in the district.


Within Congress, there is cautious optimism that Noor’s return could help reconnect with voters who had drifted away, particularly in rural pockets. At the same time, the absence of any alliance with TMC, and BJP’s growing presence have made the electoral arithmetic more challenging.

With all three major parties staking claim to Malda’s political space, the contest is increasingly being framed between legacy, welfare delivery and development narratives.
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