A scary taxi ride to Bengal's notorious Bhangar, where MLA Nawsad Siddique is loved beyond faith | Ground report
Bhangar, a violence-prone constituency in West Bengal, is a political outlier where ISF MLA Nawsad Siddique, a young Muslim leader from a prominent Sufi lineage, enjoys cross-communal support and is seeking re-election. Despite the area's reputation for political unrest and turf wars, Siddique has emerged as a rare opposition figure to challenge the TMC-BJP dominance since his 2021 win. He criticizes Mamata Banerjee's governance on education, farmer payments, and corruption, while positioning ISF as part of a broader anti-TMC, anti-BJP alternative with the Left Front. The upcoming April 29 vote in Bhangar is seen as a key test for both Siddique and the TMC, which has fielded Saokat Molla to reclaim the seat.
- ▪Nawsad Siddique is the only non-BJP opposition MLA elected in West Bengal in 2021, winning from the Bhangar constituency on an ISF ticket.
- ▪Bhangar is known for persistent political violence, land conflicts, and recent incidents including a murder of a TMC block president and seizure of crude bombs from a TMC-linked individual.
- ▪Siddique, 33, comes from the influential Furfura Sharif Sufi lineage, giving him deep religious and social influence among Bengali Muslims.
- ▪The TMC has built eight new police stations in Bhangar and detained Siddique and his workers for 42 days in 2023, signaling the seat's strategic importance.
- ▪TMC has fielded Saokat Molla, a controversial figure previously named in an NHRC report on 'notorious criminals,' to challenge Siddique in the 2026 elections.
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A scary taxi ride to Bengal's notorious Bhangar, where MLA Nawsad Siddique is loved beyond faith | Ground reportBhangar MLA Nawsad Siddique, who became the only non-BJP opposition leader to win in 2021 WB polls, is among the very few Muslim leaders loved by even Hindus.Updated on: Apr 28, 2026 1:44 PM ISTBy Nayanika SenguptaShare viaCopy link I was three failed attempts down and almost about to give up on booking a taxi for West Bengal's notorious constituency of Bhangar when a fourth agreed to take me there, only to reveal later that he too is a fan of the MLA — Nawsad Siddique — whose outfit Indian Secular Front (ISF) was the only opposition party except the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to win a seat in the 2021 state assembly elections.Ground report from West Bengal's Bhangar constituency, where ISF's Nawsad Siddique is seeking a reelection this assembly polls (Nayanika Sengupta/hindustantimes.com)The three cab drivers first accepted the booking then cancelled after hearing the destination, forcing me to wonder if it was Bhangar constituency's notorious reputation that made them do so. Track assembly election April 29 updates hereFor Raju Ghosh, the cabbie who agreed to go there, my trip's purpose of meeting Nawsad Siddique that he overheard in a phone conversation of mine, turned out to be a fanboy moment. It was then an exciting drive for him and an impatient (little scary as well) ride for me to Bhangar - the seat where Mamata Banerjee's TMC has faced challenges in maintaining its grip over the party's stronghold of South 24 Parganas district.ISF supporters wait for Nawsad Siddique's arrival at a rally in Bhangar earlier this month (Nayanika Sengupta/hindustantimes.com)Raju Ghosh, the cab driver, told me that Nawsad Siddique was among the very few Muslim leaders whose fanbase included Hindus as well because he openly challenged Mamata Banerjee - who had to order eight additional police stations in Bhangar to have the area under her control, according to Dr Abdul Matin, a political science professor at Jadavpur University in Kolkata who has followed the MLA closely over several years.Of the total 294 assembly seats in West Bengal, 293 were won by the TMC-plus and the BJP in the 2021 assembly elections. It was just Bhangar which surprised many, breaking the TMC-BJP streak, and going in Nawsad Siddique-led ISF's kitty. Bhangar is going to polls in the second and the final phase of Bengal assembly election voting on April 29.The constituency is infamous for political violence and turf war not just during the elections but throughout the year for recurring episodes of political violence, land conflicts, and clashes between local residents and authorities. One of the most prominent flashpoints was the resistance against a power grid project around 2016–17, when protests escalated into violent confrontations, leading to police firing and multiple deaths. Among recent incidents, a Trinamool Congress block president - Razzak Khan - was reportedly shot and hacked to death in Bhangar's Chaltaberiya region last year. Most recently, the police recovered around 100 crude bombs from the residence of a person allegedly linked to the ruling TMC.Nawsad Siddique, whose fanbase includes HindusFurfura Sharif’s ‘Pirzada’ Nawsad Siddique, just 33, leads the relatively young ISF, which has fielded candidates in over 33 seats in this election in alliance with the Left Front."He is among the very few Muslim leaders who openly challenges Mamata Banerjee on…
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