BJP candidate from Asansol South constituency, Agnimitra Paul, campaigns on a bicycle for the West Bengal Assembly elections in Asansol on March 22, 2026. | Photo credit: PTI
In West Bengal, candidates across party lines are engaging in quirky campaigns to connect with voters in their constituencies. From shaving people at the local barber shop to helping someone cut vegetables in the kitchen, candidates are doing everything to boost their prospects in the upcoming State Assembly elections.
These theatrical campaign visuals have now gone viral on social media. Several social media influencers have also started creating parody versions of these viral videos.
Partha Hazari, the All India Trinamool Congress candidate from Hooghly’s Pursura, entered the local kitchen and started making rotis on a clay oven. The women in the house said they had run out of LPG bottle and took up the current LPG crisis, which Trinamool has raised as a major election issue against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). On the other hand, BJP’s Asansol Dakshin candidate Agnimitra Paul fried pancakes at a local’s house. “Because our chief minister has recommended that we fry fritters and tea to earn money because there are no jobs in the state, I am doing this,” Ms Paul said.
Ms. Paul further added that there is no industry in West Bengal leading to lack of jobs and accused the Chief Minister of wrongly claiming that 21 thousand jobs have been created in the state.
Meanwhile, Ranjan Dhara, fielded by the Trinamool from Balagarh, took a detour and entered a neighbor’s kitchen where he started cooking food in a local house. The candidates of the Communist Party of India (Marxists) were not left behind in the trend. Shuvojit Dasgupta, CPI(M) candidate from Rajarhat-Gopalpur, was seen cutting banana flowers at a local’s house.
In a parallel campaign, Anup Saha, BJP MLA from Dubrajpur, entered a local barbershop and started shaving a customer sitting in a barber’s chair, attracting attention on social media.
BJP candidate from Bidhannagar, Sharadwat Mukherjee, deviated from the party’s usual narrative of a vegetarian diet, canvassed with fish and attempted to suggest that the saffron party would not impose restrictions on non-vegetarian food if elected to power in West Bengal.
Another BJP candidate, Gopal Chandra Saha, fielded from Malda, was seen working in the fields and picking potatoes alongside farmers. Meanwhile, Trinamool’s Mitali Bag was seen trying her hand at cooking, farming and knitting in several households in her Arambag constituency.
Trinamool’s Ramjiban Mandi from Keshiary constituency ran 12 km to reach a meeting with party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee to reach out to the youth. Another candidate, Pratibha Rani Maity from Narayangarh constituency, is campaigning on her cycle and reaching out to voters in villages.
As Bengal and its candidates gear up for high-stakes state elections, political leaders are turning to everyday activities to connect with voters and strike a chord.
The state is heading for two-phase polling on April 23 and 29 for 294 constituencies.
Published – 27 March 2026 18:58 IST
