Established in 1951, it has gone to the Assembly elections 17 times. It used to be a twin-seat constituency in the first two elections. Sankrail started its electoral journey by strongly supporting the Left parties. The All India Forward Bloc won both seats at stake in 1951, followed by the CPI and the Forward Bloc sharing the two seats in 1957. The CPI won the seat in 1962 when it formally became a single-seat constituency. The CPI(M) has won the Sankrail constituency seven times, all in a row between 1969 and 1991. The LeftтАЩs run was interrupted twice by the Congress party, which held the seat in 1967 and 1996. Beginning in 2001, the Trinamool Congress has remained undefeated by winning five consecutive terms.
Incidentally, there is something unique about Sankrail. It embraced the CPI(M) long before it came to power in 1977 and deserted it 15 years before the CPI(M)-led Left Front lost power to the Trinamool Congress in 2011. Sital Kumar Sardar, who had already won the seat thrice, as a Congress nominee in 1996, and for the Trinamool Congress in 2001 and 2006, retained the seat in 2011, defeating Anirban Hazra of the CPI(M) by 17,857 votes after a close call in 2006 when SardarтАЩs victory margin over Hazra was barely 113 votes. Sardar won the seat once again in 2016, making it five wins in a row, as he defeated CPI(M)тАЩs Samir Malick by 14,757 votes. Trinamool, however, dropped an aging Sardar in 2021 and gave the ticket to Priya Paul. Paul justified the move as she beat BJPтАЩs Probhakar Pandit by an increased margin of 40,427 votes.
SankrailтАЩs love affair with the Trinamool Congress is also reflected in the voting trends witnessed during the Lok Sabha elections in the Sankrail Assembly segment, as it has led in all four parliamentary polls since 2009. It led the CPI(M) by 15,554 votes in 2009 and by 16,598 votes in 2014 before the BJP replaced the CPI(M) as the principal challenger to the Trinamool Congress. The BJPтАЩs growth did not impact the TrinamoolтАЩs dominance as it led the BJP by increased margins of 21,105 votes in 2019 and by 26,859 votes in 2024.
Sankrail Assembly constituency had 217,932 voters on the draft electoral roll following the 2025 Special Intensive Revision, witnessing removal of 67,278 voters listed in the roll for the 2024, when it stood at 285,210. Earlier, the number of registered voters was 277,076 in 2021, 259,923 in 2019, 244,188 in 2016 and 211,354 in 2011. Initially, it was a general category constituency and was declared as a reserved seat ahead of the 2006 elections. A notable feature of the Sankrail constituency is that, though it is reserved for the Scheduled Caste community, they are outnumbered by Muslims, who are the most dominant electoral bloc. SC voters were 23.50 per cent compared to 37.20 per cent Muslim voters. The voter turnout has witnessed fluctuations, with the highest turnout of 81.37 per cent in 2011 and the lowest at 76.20 per cent in 2024. In between, it stood at 79.05 per cent in 2016, 77.33 per cent in 2019 and 80.20 per cent in 2021. It is a predominantly urban seat with only 12.53 per cent rural voters on its rolls, compared to 87.47 per cent urban voters.
Sankrail lies in the flat alluvial plains of Howrah district on the western bank of the Hooghly River, with low-lying terrain typical of the lower Ganges delta and prone to occasional flooding. The area features fertile soils from riverine deposits and is influenced by the Hooghly River flowing along its eastern edge. The economy mixes agriculture with urban-industrial growth, featuring paddy, vegetables and some cash crops in rural pockets alongside jute mills, small factories, garment units and trade in the semi-urban belt. Infrastructure is well-developed in Sankrail, while road connectivity is strong through NH-16 and state highways. The nearest railhead is Sankrail railway station, right in the town on the Howrah-Kharagpur line, offering frequent suburban trains to Howrah and Kolkata.
Nearby towns include Howrah, the district headquarters, at about 10 to 15 km, Uluberia at around 25 to 30 km, Domjur at 10 km, Panchla at 15 km, Andul at 5 to 8 km, Jagatballavpur at 20 km, Bagnan at 35 km, and the state capital Kolkata at 15 to 20 km via NH-16 or other routes. Other towns in Howrah district include Shibpur and Salkia, farther north, while adjoining districts feature places in Hooghly like Serampore, around 30 km northwest and North 24 Parganas areas across the river.
The SIR-induced draft roll, if it remains largely unchanged, might have a direct bearing on the upcoming Assembly election in Sankrail, as the number of names deleted in the draft roll is far greater than the Trinamool CongressтАЩs victory margins and leads. Apparently, the majority of the names struck off the 2024 rolls are from the Muslim community. This might throw open the 2026 Assembly elections in Sankrail and make the contest close and intriguing. Whether the BJP can capitalise on the reduced Muslim voters and make inroads into the Trinamool Congress bastion would be the moot point in Sankrail.
(Ajay Jha)
