Ranaghat Uttar Purba Assembly Election Results 2026

Ranaghat Uttar Purba comprises six gram panchayats of the Ranaghat II community development block and five gram panchayats of the Hanskhali block, lending it a typical rural character. It is one of the seven assembly segments under the Ranaghat Lok Sabha constituency. In its brief existence, Ranaghat Uttar Purba has become a fierce battleground between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP. In the seven major elections held here since 2009, the Trinamool Congress has won or led in four elections, whereas the BJP has led in three.

While Ranaghat East was a Communist bastion throughout its existence with the CPI(M) and CPI winning all 11 elections, they have been struggling and declining in Ranaghat Uttar Purba with each election. The Trinamool Congress won the 2011 election with Samir Kumar Poddar as its candidate. He defeated CPI(M)’s Archana Biswas by 31,192 votes. Poddar retained the seat in 2016 with a reduced margin of 14,972 votes, defeating Babusona Sarkar of the CPI(M). The BJP, which was languishing at the distant third position, sprang a surprise as it overtook these two traditional rivals of test Bengal politics by winning the seat in 2021 as its nominee, Ashim Biswas, defeated the Trinamool Congress’s sitting MLA Poddar by 31,782 votes.

In the four Lok Sabha elections held in the Ranaghat Uttar Purba Assembly segment since 2009, the scores have been even with both the Trinamool Congress and the BJP leading in two elections each. Trinamool led the CPI(M) by 21,686 votes and by 38,220 votes in 2014. The BJP emerged on top, establishing a big lead of 43,226 votes in 2019 over the Trinamool Congress, which declined marginally to 39,399 votes in 2024.

Ranaghat Uttar Purba Assembly constituency had 258,682 voters on the draft electoral roll following the 2025 SIR undertaken in the state, due to the deletion of 15,282 voters from the 2024 roll when the number of registered voters stood at 273,964. Previously, it was 264,929 in 2021, 252,297 in 2019, 238,807 in 2016 and 201,195 in 2011. Scheduled Castes are the most dominant bloc with 59.88 per cent of voters, while the Scheduled Tribes account for 2.99 per cent. Muslims are in minuscule numbers in this constituency. It is a predominantly rural seat with 92.36 per cent rural voters compared to 7.64 per cent who live in urban pockets.

The voter turnout has been remarkably high here, with the highest turnout of 84.74 per cent in 2011 and the lowest at 77.91 per cent in 2024. In between, it stood at 81.18 per cent in 2016, 80.07 per cent in 2019 and 81.16 per cent in 2021.

Ranaghat Uttar Purba lies in the flat alluvial plains of Nadia district in the lower Ganges delta region, with low-lying terrain typical of rural Bengal and prone to seasonal flooding during monsoons. The area features fertile soils from riverine deposits and is influenced by the Churni River flowing nearby, along with the Mathabhanga and other minor waterways that provide irrigation through canals and natural streams.

The economy relies heavily on agriculture with paddy, jute, potato, vegetables and some cash crops as main produce. Pisciculture and rural trade add to livelihoods. Infrastructure is rural with electricity, drinking water and basic markets, while road connectivity is decent through state highways and district roads. Rail access is strong with Ranaghat Junction railway station, the nearest major railhead, about 15 to 20 km away on the Sealdah-Ranaghat line, offering frequent suburban trains to Sealdah and Kolkata.

Nearby towns include Ranaghat town at about 15 to 20 km, Krishnanagar, the district headquarters, at 25 to 30 km, Kalyani at 40 km, Chakdaha at 35 km, Santipur at 20 km, Bangaon at 30 km, and the state capital Kolkata at 70 to 80 km via NH-12 or other routes. Other towns in Nadia district include Taherpur at 10 km, and Cooper's Not at 15 km, while adjoining districts feature places in North 24 Parganas like Habra, around 40 km south. The Bangladesh border lies approximately 30 to 40 km east, guarded by the Border Security Force with fencing and patrols in the border stretches.

The deletion of 15,282 voters in the draft roll has created some amount of confusion as the number of Muslim voters in Ranaghat Uttar Purba is quite low. The details about which caste or community might have witnessed the maximum jolt are not yet known. It is also not certain if it would help or hit the BJP, which had emerged as the dominant political force here of late.

If the draft roll remains largely unchanged, one can expect some twist and turn in Ranaghat Uttar Purba in the 2026 Assembly elections with the BJP enjoying the upper hand. It promises to be a direct contest between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress, though technically it would be a multi-cornered contest in view of the Congress party’s decision to annul its alliance with the Left Front and contest all 294 seats of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly.

(Ajay Jha)