With the crucial West Bengal Assembly polls now underway, here's a look at some of the key constituencies in Kolkata and surrounding areas that are expected to be closely contested.
Bhabanipur: This South Kolkata constituency, represented by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has been a stronghold of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) since 2011. Banerjee, who holds residence in this constituency, has won two bypolls and the full term election from here.
Following her narrow defeat to BJP's Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram in the 2021 assembly polls, Banerjee won the Bhabanipur bypoll later that year with 71.9% of the votes. However, the recent voter deletions from the constituency's electoral rolls have raised concerns about the potential impact on the election outcome.
While the Election Commission (EC) deleted 47,094 names, 44,786 at the draft stage, and 2,324 in the final list, they referred over 14,000 electors to judicial officers for adjudication on grounds of discrepancies in the enumeration forms.
Despite Banerjee's announcement that she would win the seat, political observers believe that the post-SIR rolls may have presented the toughest challenge for her in her political career.
Ballygunge: This South Kolkata constituency is known for its diverse population, including residents of well-known addresses, residential high-rises, and middle-class neighborhoods, along with widespread shanty towns. The electorate comprises Urdu-speaking Muslims, Bengali-speaking Hindus, non-Bengali Hindus, and a small Christian population.
Babool Supriyo, the Trinamool candidate, won the 2022 bypoll, which constituted over 50% of the minority population, necessitated by the death of TMC minister Subrata Mukherjee. With Supriyo now moving to Rajya Sabha on a TMC ticket, Mamata Banerjee's choice of candidate for this seat remains a key factor.
Kolkata Port: Considered one of the most politically significant constituencies, Kolkata Port, located in the western fringes of the city bordering the Hooghly river, includes densely populated neighborhoods and a significant presence of minority voters.
Represented by TMC's Firhad Hakim, who won the 2021 elections by a comfortable margin, Kolkata Port remains a TMC stronghold, despite attempts by opposition parties, including the BJP and Congress, to gain ground.
Given its demographic composition, political visibility, and the prominence of its sitting MLA, the constituency is expected to attract significant attention during the election campaigns.
Bhangar: Technically located in the South 24 Parganas district, Bhangar was brought under the jurisdiction of Kolkata Police in 2024 for active policing due to the region's sensitivity, marked by frequent political clashes between the TMC, which won the seat in 2016, and the Indian Secular Front (ISF), which currently holds political sway in the area after snatching the constituency from its rivals in the 2021 state polls.
In fact, ISF's Nawsad Siddique remains the only non-BJP opposition MLA in the Assembly, with Bhangar standing as a crucial battleground for TMC's electoral dominance in south Bengal, which the party desperately wants to regain.
Siddique, who won the Bhangar seat in 2021 with a margin of over 26,000 votes, is likely to contest again. A renewed electoral alliance between the ISF and CPI(M), which won the seat seven consecutive times from 1972 to 2001 and again in 2011 and still retains a strong base of voters, further strengthens Siddique's chances of success.
Bitter factional rivalry within the TMC, allegedly between the party strongman Arabul Islam and the MLA of adjacent Canning Purba Saokat Molla, frequently surfaces in the region, posing additional challenges for the party's victory prospects.
Baruipur Paschim: Represented by Speaker Biman Banerjee since 2011, Baruipur Paschim seat, part of Jadavpur Lok Sabha segment, has long remained a TMC stronghold.
However, recent trends indicate a growing challenge from the BJP and the CPI(M) in the area.
According to electoral data, the constituency has over 2.32 lakh registered voters, with Muslim voters accounting for over 30% of the electorate.
Despite the TMC's dominance, the opposition has steadily expanded its vote share over the years. The BJP turned out as a significant challenger in recent elections, securing 27.97% of the vote in the 2021 Assembly election, while the CPI(M), once a dominant force in the region, continues to retain pockets of support.