Kolkata, March 17: The Birbhum parliamentary constituency in West Bengal, once a bastion of the Left, has now become a stronghold for the Trinamool Congress (TMC). The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is striving to make inroads in this rural district, which is characterized by diverse demographics. The northern region, near the Murshidabad border, has a significant Muslim population, while the southern and western parts are predominantly Hindu, with a considerable presence of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, particularly the Santhal community.
Birbhum Lok Sabha constituency, numbered 42, encompasses seven assembly seats. In the fiercely polarized elections of 2021, TMC achieved a sweeping victory here.
Murarai: This seat is TMC’s strongest fortress, with a high Muslim population. In 2021, TMC’s Mosharraf Hossain won by a substantial margin of over 45%.
Nalhati: Another minority-dominated area, where TMC’s Rajendra Narayan Das currently serves as the MLA. His victory in 2021 was marked by a significant margin of nearly 28%, thanks to strategic voting by Bengali Muslim voters.
Hansan: This seat, reliant on a rural economy, also sees considerable influence from minority communities. TMC veteran Ashok Kumar Chattopadhyay won here easily in 2021.
Rampurhat: A mixed-population seat, TMC’s senior leader and Deputy Speaker of the State Assembly, Ashish Banerjee, represents this constituency. The competition was tight in 2021, with a narrow victory margin of just 4%.
Siudi: As the district headquarters, this seat has a Hindu majority and a high Dalit population, along with urban influence. TMC’s Bikash Roy Chowdhury holds this seat, but his victory margin in 2021 was only 3.4%.
Sainthia (SC): This seat is reserved for Scheduled Castes. The state government’s welfare schemes, such as ‘Lakshmir Bhandar’, have had a significant impact here. TMC’s Nilabati Saha is the current MLA, having won decisively in 2021.
Dubrajpur (SC): This is the only seat in the district held by the BJP. Even amidst the TMC wave in 2021, BJP’s Anup Kumar Saha managed to win by a slim margin of approximately 1.9%.
Approximately 80% of Birbhum’s population relies on agriculture. The constituency is represented by TMC MP Shatabdi Roy.
In the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Shatabdi Roy secured a remarkable victory with 47% of the votes. However, the real story lies in the performance of Congress. Their candidate, Milton Rashid, saw a vote share increase from around 10% to 14.81%, while BJP’s share dropped by 5%.
On March 15, the Election Commission announced the schedule for the West Bengal assembly elections, which will take place in two phases on April 23 and 29, with vote counting set for May 4.
Interestingly, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made a significant move ahead of the elections, announcing the payment of pending dearness allowances to state employees and pensioners before the Election Commission’s announcement. She also declared a ₹500 increase in the honorarium for priests and muezzins.
My name is Ganpat Singh Choughan. I am an experienced content writer with 7 years of expertise in the field. Currently, I contribute to Daily Kiran, creating engaging and informative content across a variety of categories including technology, health, travel, education, and automobiles. My goal is to deliver accurate, insightful, and captivating information through my words to help readers stay informed and empowered.
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