Kamarhati came into existence as an Assembly seat in 1967 and has gone to the polls 14 times so far. The CPI(M) has won the seat 11 times, including seven consecutive victories between 1977 and 2006, while the Congress has won once and the Trinamool Congress twice.
In 2011, Madan Mitra of the Trinamool Congress defeated CPI(M)’s sitting MLA Manash Mukherjee by 24,354 votes. In 2016, Manash Mukherjee hit back, defeating Madan Mitra by 4,198 votes, only for Madan Mitra to reclaim the seat in 2021 by defeating the BJP’s Anindya Banerjee by 35,408 votes.
The rise of the BJP in Kamarhati has been gradual but noticeable. Its vote share moved from 1.33 per cent in 2011 to 7.83 per cent in 2016 and then jumped to 26.64 per cent in 2021, while the CPI(M) polled 38.92 per cent in 2011, 45.09 per cent in 2016 and 19.62 per cent of the vote in 2021.
In Lok Sabha elections, the Trinamool Congress has led in the Kamarhati segment in all four contests since 2009. Its lead over the CPI(M) was 2,365 votes in 2009 and 14,810 votes in 2014, and over the BJP it was 17,725 votes in 2019 and about 18,800 votes in 2024.
The number of registered voters in Kamarhati has increased steadily from 161,809 in 2011 to 184,281 in 2016, 188,840 in 2019, 197,013 in 2021 and 202,418 in 2024. Muslims account for about 22.30 per cent of voters, Scheduled Castes 3.76 per cent and Scheduled Tribes 1.06 per cent, and it is a completely urban seat with no rural voters on its rolls.
Voter turnout has been high but has shown a gradual decline over time. It was 78.96 per cent in 2011, 74.90 per cent in 2016, 73.59 per cent in 2019, 73.25 per cent in 2021 and 70.35 per cent in 2024.
Kamarhati developed as an industrial township along the east bank of the Hooghly, with the establishment of jute mills and other factories from the late 19th century onwards. The Kamarhati Company Limited, established in 1877, is one of the oldest composite jute mills. Over time, its engineering units, textiles, small workshops, and trading activities have helped diversify the local economy.
After the partition in 1947, many Hindu refugees from East Bengal settled in the northern fringe of Kolkata, including areas like Kamarhati in the 24 Parganas, adding a large number of lower and middle-income families who supplied labour to the jute mills and other urban jobs. Their arrival changed the social profile of the town, increased population density and strengthened its character as a working-class, migrant-heavy industrial locality rather than a quiet riverside suburb.
Today, Kamarhati is part of the built-up Kolkata urban stretch in the Barrackpore subdivision, sitting north of Kolkata city and close to Belgharia, Baranagar and Khardaha. Daily life here is closely tied to the wider Kolkata labour and services market, with many residents working in offices, shops, transport, education and small industry across the metropolitan area.
The constituency has good road and rail links. It is connected to Kolkata through the Barrackpore Trunk Road and other urban roads, and lies within easy reach of Dakshineswar and the Belgharia Expressway, which links to the state and national highway network.
Rail connectivity is through nearby suburban stations on the Sealdah-Bangaon and Sealdah-Barrackpore routes, as well as access to the metro network via nearby nodes, enabling commuters to reach central Kolkata and other business districts. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport at Dum Dum is roughly 10 km away by road, making air travel easily accessible for residents.
Kamarhati is about 15-16 km by road from central Kolkata, around Esplanade and the Maidan. It is roughly 10 km from Howrah across the river, about 12 km from the district headquarters at Barasat, around 3-4 km from Baranagar and Belgharia, and about 5-7 km from Khardaha and Barrackpore along the urban stretch of North 24 Parganas.
The Trinamool Congress enters the 2026 contest in Kamarhati with a clear upper hand and appears under no immediate threat of losing the seat. The Left Front-Congress alliance remains alive and active here, polling 19.62 per cent in the 2021 Assembly election and 23.24 per cent in the 2024 Lok Sabha election in this segment, while the BJP, despite finishing second in recent contests, has not yet managed to seriously challenge Trinamool, which led it by 24.50 percentage points in 2021 and 13.20 percentage points in 2024.
Barring a dramatic shift, Kamarhati is set for a triangular contest in 2026 in which the performance of the Left Front-Congress alliance will be crucial because of its ability to cut into the Trinamool vote base and win back its voters who drifted to the BJP. For now, however, the Trinamool Congress remains firmly in control of this compact, urban, industrial seat.
(Ajay Jha)
