Hamidul Rahman is an Indian politician who has won two terms as a member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. Rahman won the

Chopra Chopra is a Khatri Hindu and Sikh surname. They belonged to the Barah-Ghar/ Bahri sub-caste of the Khatris which includes the clans of Dhawan, Kakkar, Kapoor, Khanna, Mehra, Malhotra, Sehgal, Seth, Tandon, Talwar, and Vohra. The clan claims ...

seat in

Uttar Dinajpur Uttar Dinajpur () is a district of the Indian state of West Bengal. Created on 1 April 1992 by the division of the erstwhile West Dinajpur district, it comprises two subdivisions: Raiganj and Islampur. History Undivided Dinajpur district ...

as an independent candidate in the 2001 election. As an

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British ...

candidate he lost the same seat in 2006. In the eventful 2011 elections, which the Congress fought in alliance with

All India Trinamool Congress The All India Trinamool Congress ( English: All India Grassroots Congress; AITC), colloquially the Trinamool Congress ( TMC) is an Indian political party which is predominantly active in West Bengal. The party is led by Mamata Banerjee, the cu ...

, the Chopra seat was allotted to

AITC AITC may refer to: * All India Trinamool Congress The All India Trinamool Congress (English: All India Grassroots Congress; AITC), colloquially the Trinamool Congress ( TMC) is an Indian political party which is predominantly active in West B ...

. However, Rahman contested as an independent candidate and won the seat. In fact, of the 18 rebel Congress candidates who fought elections throughout West Bengal, Rahman was the only winner. Rahman was initially suspended by the Congress for contesting against the alliance candidate, but was soon taken back into the Congress by his political mentor,

Deepa Dasmunsi Deepa Dasmunsi is an Indian politician. She served as the member of parliament for Raiganj in the 15th Lok Sabha. She was the Minister of State for Urban Development from October 2012 until May 2014. She was the wife of Indian National Congr ...

. Rahman is alleged to have been involved in post-poll violence. Subsequently, Rahman joined

Controversies

Election Commission show-cause notice

Hamidul Rahman made headlines with controversial remarks during a public meeting in

. Addressing supporters, Rahman warned voters of severe consequences if they did not vote for the

TMC TMC may stand for: Companies and brands * Thinking Machines Corporation, a defunct supercomputer company * Toyota Motor Corporation, a Japanese automobile manufacturer *Transportation Management Center, a division of American shipping company C.H. ...

in the upcoming elections. His speech suggested that while central forces would leave after the elections, TMC's own forces would remain to enforce repercussions on those who opposed the party. Rahman stated that votes should not be wasted on other parties, framing a vote for the CPM-

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

as indirectly supporting the

BJP The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

. He implied that voters who did not support the TMC would face issues post-election and that he would not intervene on their behalf. Furthermore, he directed his own party members to ensure at least 90% of votes in each booth went to the TMC, threatening local leaders and

panchayat The Panchayat raj is a political system, originating from the Indian subcontinent, found mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent, and historical menti ...

members with consequences if this target was not met. The Election Commission of India (ECI) issued a show-cause notice to Rahman following these remarks, citing intimidation of voters. The controversy around his comments led to significant backlash from opposition parties, particularly the BJP, which accused him of attempting to influence the electoral process through threats and intimidation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rahman, Hamidul Living people West Bengal MLAs 2001–2006 West Bengal MLAs 2011–2016 West Bengal MLAs 2016–2021 People from Uttar Dinajpur district Indian National Congress politicians from West Bengal Year of birth missing (living people) Trinamool Congress politicians from West Bengal 20th-century Bengalis 21st-century Bengalis West Bengal MLAs 2021–2026