The absence of Mausam Noor, a Rajya Sabha member from Trinamul and a prominent face of the party in Malda district, from the election campaign so far has led to speculations in the district’s political arena.

In Malda, a district with a minority population of around 52 per cent, Prasun Banerjee and Shahnawaz Ali Raihan have been fielded by Trinamul in Malda North and Malda South Lok Sabha seats. They started their campaign almost a week ago.

“It is surprising that Mausam Noor is absent in their campaigns. She is a Rajya Sabha MP of Trinamul and bears the lineage of the late Congress patriarch A.B.A. Ghani Khan Choudhury who is still considered the tallest political leader of the district,” said a political veteran of the district.

In the Ghani Khan family of Kotowali on the outskirts of Malda town, Mausam is the only person in Trinamul. Earlier, one of her uncles had joined Trinamul but he is ailing and away from active politics now. The rest are all in the Congress.

Party insiders said they are also facing unpleasant questions from workers and supporters.

“Party workers and supporters are inquisitive as they couldn’t find Mausam Noor. In 2019, we couldn’t win any of the two Lok Sabha seats. In other districts of north Bengal, all prominent leaders of our party have plunged into campaign mode. But here, she has not yet joined the campaign,” said a Trinamul functionary.

A niece of Ghani Khan and A.H. Khan Choudhury, the Congress MP of Malda south, Noor defected to Trinamul in 2019 after being the district Congress president for six years.

She went to the office of chief minister Mamata Banerjee and joined the party. Earlier, in 2008, she was elected as a Congress MLA in an Assembly bypoll from Sujapur. In 2009 and 2014, she was elected as the Congress MP from Malda North. However, in 2019, Khagen Murmu, the BJP candidate, defeated her.

In 2020, she was appointed the district Trinamul president and sent to Rajya Sabha in the same area.

However, in 2021, she was removed from the district president’s post, a decision her associates feel left her cornered in the party. “In fact, she was not seen in the party's programmes after her removal,” pointed out a party leader.

The whereabouts of Noor, who could not be contacted as her cell phone remained out of network, are yet to be known for certain.

In Malda, a section of Trinamul leaders claimed she was in Calcutta. However, state minister Firhad Hakim who was here on Sunday said she was in Delhi.

“We have heard that she is in Delhi for some personal work,” Hakim said.

Her followers in the party expected her to be nominated from Malda North again but the Trinamul leadership fielded former IPS Prasun Banerjee.

“She is a seasoned politician and hails from the Kotowali family. She must have some (political) plans,” said a Trinamul leader close to her.