Uluberia Uttar’s evolution as an Assembly constituency has a complex background. Uluberia was originally established as a twin-seat general category constituency in 1951. While the Forward Bloc won both seats on offer in 1951, it shared the seat with the Congress party in 1957. The composite Uluberia constituency was split into Uluberia North and Uluberia South Assembly constituencies ahead of the 1962 elections. Both these seats were dissolved and replaced in 2011 by three constituencies, Uluberia Uttar, Uluberia Dakshin and Uluberia Purba, to give fairer representation to the changed population. This redrawing proved a boon for the Trinamool Congress, which has been winning all three constituencies since 2011.
Dr Nirmal Maji of Trinamool Congress has won all three elections since Uluberia Uttar acquired its present shape. He has defeated rivals from three different parties, indicating the Uluberia Uttar voters are still in the process of finding out which party is best suited to challenge the Trinamool Congress. Maji defeated Bhim Ghuku of the CPI(M) by 18,448 votes in 2011. He retained the seat in 2016 with a reduced margin of 14,182 votes by defeating the Congress party’s Amiya Kumar Mondal. In 2021, he was unsuccessfully challenged by the BJP’s nominee Chiran Bera, as Maji won his third consecutive election by a margin of 21,003 votes.
Voting trends during the Lok Sabha elections in the Uluberia Assembly segment also reveal the Trinamool Congress’s strong grip as it has led in all four parliamentary polls held since 2009, twice each over the CPI(M) and the BJP. It led the CPI(M) by 10,980 votes in 2009 and by 29,908 votes in 2014. Thereafter, the BJP emerged as its principal challenger though Trinamool Congress continued to lead in the segment with margins of 13,983 in 2019 and 18,003 votes in 2024.
The number of voters in Uluberia Uttar has shrunk by 16,232 voters following the 2025 SIR exercise carried out by the Election Commission. The draft electoral roll as on January 1, 2026, has listed 217,177 voters in this constituency, while it stood at 233,409 in 2024, 224,423 in 2021, 214,965 in 2019, 199,453 in 2016 and 170,752 in 2011.
The Muslim community voters had almost caught up with the Scheduled Castes in this reserved constituency. Scheduled Castes were still the largest bloc of voters with 32.42 per cent, while Muslims accounted for 29.40 per cent of the voters. Rural voters with 58.67 per cent of the vote outnumber urban voters, who make up 41.33 per cent of its voters. The voter turnout has remained high, though it tends to dip a bit during the Lok Sabha polls. It stood at 85.40 per cent in 2011, 82.79 per cent in 2016 and 82.81 per cent in 2021 Assembly elections, whereas it declined marginally to 79.07 per cent in 2019 and 78.07 per cent in 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Uluberia Uttar lies in the southwestern part of Howrah district in the flat alluvial plains along 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 river deposits and is influenced by the Hooghly River flowing to the east, while the Rupnarayan River and minor canals provide irrigation and drainage.
The local economy combines agriculture with semi-urban trade, featuring paddy, jute, vegetables, potato and some cash crops in rural areas alongside small-scale industries, jute mills remnants and commuting to Howrah and Kolkata for jobs. Infrastructure includes electricity, drinking water and markets, while road connectivity is strong through NH-16 and state highways. Rail access is excellent with Uluberia railway station nearby on the Howrah-Kharagpur main line, about 5 to 10 km from the core area of Uluberia Uttar, offering frequent suburban trains to Howrah and Sealdah.
Nearby towns include Uluberia town at about 5 to 10 km, Howrah, the district headquarters, at 25 to 30 km, Bagnan at 20 km, Amta at 15 to 20 km, Panchla at 15 km, Domjur at 20 km, and the state capital Kolkata at 40 to 50 km, with central landmarks like Esplanade at about 45 km via NH-16 or EM Bypass. Other towns in the Howrah district include Shyampur at 25 km and Jagatballavpur farther south, while adjoining districts feature places in Hooghly like Serampore around 40 km north and North 24 Parganas areas across the river.
With as many as 16,232 names struck off from the draft electoral roll, the Trinamool Congress’s lead over the BJP stands almost nullified at the moment, though one will have to wait for the publication of the final electoral roll. If it remains by and large unchanged, it might cause a concern or two to the Trinamool Congress since the number of Muslim voters may decrease. This would put both the Trinamool Congress and the BJP on par in the Uluberia Uttar constituency in the 2026 Assembly elections, opening the prospect of a close and fiercely contested election.
(Ajay Jha)
