India, May 4 -- Kalatan Dasgupta, Communist Party of India (Marxist) youth leader and a prominent face of the DYFI, is contesting the 2026 West Bengal assembly elections from the Panihati constituency in North 24 Parganas. Marking his first major electoral contest, Dasgupta has emerged as a central figure in the Left's strategy to reclaim its urban industrial base by fielding young, articulate activists who gained statewide recognition during recent protest movements.

Dasgupta is locked in a high-stakes battle against TMC's Tirthankar Ghosh - son of a sitting MLA Nirmal Ghosh - and BJP's Ratna Debnath.

On the campaign trail in Panihati, he framed the 2026 assembly polls as a struggle against "corruption and systemic evidence tampering,"...