Uttarpara Assembly Election Results 2026

The constituency comprises Uttarpara Kotrung Municipality, Konnagar Municipality, and three gram panchayats – Nabagram, Kanaipur, and Raghunathpur – of the Sreerampur Uttarpara community development block. The inclusion of these panchayats adds a faint rural touch to an otherwise urban seat, with just 0.31 per cent of voters classified as rural and the remaining 99.69 per cent forming the urban electorate.

Uttarpara had 259,814 registered voters in 2021, up from 249,055 in 2019 and 242,165 in 2016. Despite being an urban seat, voter turnout has remained impressively high, though it has tended to dip slightly over the years, with 78.14 per cent in 2016, 77.08 per cent in 2019, and 76.94 per cent in 2021.

The constituency has witnessed 18 Assembly elections, including the 2003 bypoll triggered by the death of Prof. Swaraj Mukherjee, the man who briefly interrupted the Left’s long winning streak. The Communist Party of India won the seat in 1951, 1957, and 1962, before the CPI(M), born of a split in 1964, took over with nine consecutive wins. Prof. Mukherjee won the seat for the fledgling Trinamool Congress in 2001 by a slender margin of 1,768 votes. After his passing, the CPI(M) reclaimed the seat in the 2003 bypoll and held it one last time in 2006, scraping through by just 885 votes. That brought the Left Front’s total to 14 victories.

The Trinamool Congress returned with force in 2011, when Anup Ghosal defeated CPI(M)’s sitting MLA Prof. Shrutinath Praharaj by 43,193 votes. In 2016, Praharaj was again defeated, this time by Trinamool’s Prabir Kumar Ghosal, who won by 12,000 votes. In 2021, Prabir Kumar Ghosal, having switched to the BJP, was defeated by Trinamool’s Kanchan Mullick by 35,989 votes. Notably, the Trinamool Congress has fielded different candidates in each of the five Assembly elections it has contested here since entering the fray in 2001, three years after its formation in 1998. 

The BJP has shown a stronger performance in the Lok Sabha elections, consistently finishing second in the Uttarpara Assembly segment. Trinamool’s lead over the BJP stood at 16,231 votes in 2014, dropped sharply to 3,491 in 2019, and rose modestly to 9,040 in 2024.

Uttarpara’s terrain is flat and fertile, shaped by its proximity to the Hooghly River. The area has a rich industrial past, most notably as the home of Hindustan Motors, which produced the iconic Ambassador car here until the factory shut down in 2014. The site has since been repurposed, with the Hiranandani Group developing an IT park that signals a shift from manufacturing to services. The economy now leans on small businesses, educational institutions, and emerging tech infrastructure.

Connectivity is one of Uttarpara’s strengths. It lies just 10 km from Kolkata and is well-linked by road and rail. The Uttarpara Railway Station is part of the Howrah–Bardhaman main line, and the area is served by frequent buses and suburban trains. The district headquarters at Sreerampur is about 5 km away. Nearby towns include Konnagar (4 km), Rishra (6 km), and Baidyabati (7 km). Across the Bally Canal lies Bally in Howrah district, while Barrackpore in North 24 Parganas is about 12 km away.

As the 2026 Assembly elections approach, the Trinamool Congress may look strong on paper, backed by three consecutive victories and steady leads in Lok Sabha polls. But the BJP has been running close, and its rise here is no longer a footnote. It has become the principal challenger, capable of turning the tables. The Trinamool knows this, and so does the BJP. Both will keep a close eye on the CPI(M), which refuses to fade quietly. Its performance in the 2021 Assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls was more than just symbolic. It was a reminder that in Uttarpara, the Left may be down, but it isn’t out. And if it stirs again, it could throw every calculation off balance.

(Ajay Jha)