‘Past poll violence and voter list concerns may shape New Town Assembly contest’

Kolkata: Although there are no major issues relating to public service or security, the people of New Town are expecting a fair and peaceful election this year.

However, the incidents of violence and criminal intimidation during the panchayat elections in 2023 have made a major impact, which could be a drawback for the Trinamool Congress candidate.

The Trinamool Congress in the 2026 Assembly election has fielded Tapas Chatterjee, a two-time MLA, while CPI(M) has fielded Saptarshi Deb, son of former Housing Minister Goutam Deb. Challenging the Trinamool Congress and CPI(M), the BJP has fielded Pijush Kanoria, a long-time worker for the party. In 2021, Chatterjee secured 1,27,374 votes, while the BJP’s candidate Bhaskar Roy secured 70,942 votes. Saptarshi, who had contested in 2021 as well, was able to get only 31,543 votes.

Compared to the result of 2016, the number of votes for CPI(M) has fallen drastically. In 2016, CPI(M) candidate Narendranath Chatterjee secured 81,478 votes. According to the residents of New Town, other than some minor works related to public service, nothing much is expected in New Town. However, in the panchayat areas, some development works need to be done. Though CPI(M) and the BJP are mentioning several issues related to public utilities like road conditions, water supply and construction material supply syndicates, at present, no major issues exist in core New Town. Apart from this, the recent project of the state government to construct Durga Angan will also provide additional support for the Trinamool Congress.

The ruling party, however, might face a setback due to the violence on polling day during the panchayat elections. Several residents were prevented from reaching the polling booths, with some alleging that they were threatened by armed goons. It was also alleged that the police became inactive and did not act to ensure the safety of voters.

Another major issue which is expected to go against the BJP is the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). In the Rajarhat New Town Assembly constituency, the Matua vote is a major factor. In the recent SIR, the names of a good number of Matua voters were removed from the voter list. As a consequence, the BJP may lose a large chunk of votes from the Jyotinagar and Jyangra-Hatiara areas.