The Siliguri Assembly constituency in West Bengal is set to witness a closely watched contest as voting takes place along with 293 other seats across the state. The political atmosphere has intensified, with the seat emerging as an important battleground between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC).
Main candidates in fray
The TMC has nominated Goutam Deb, while the BJP has fielded Shankar Ghosh as its candidate. The contest also includes Saradindu Chakraborty from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Aloke Dhara representing the Congress.
Campaign gains momentum after PM’s rally
The election campaign gathered pace following a rally addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During his speech, he criticised the TMC, accusing it of backing divisive elements and sending such representatives to Parliament. He also highlighted promises of women-focused welfare measures if the BJP forms the government in the state.
Constituency profile and past results
Siliguri falls under the Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency and is located in the Darjeeling district. In the 2021 Assembly elections, BJP candidate Shankar Ghosh secured victory by defeating TMC’s Omprakash Mishra with a margin of 35,586 votes.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP maintained its hold in the region. Its candidate Raju Bista won the Darjeeling parliamentary seat, defeating TMC’s Gopal Lama by a margin of 1,78,525 votes.
Voter demographics
According to the Election Commission, Siliguri had a total of 2,28,406 registered voters in the 2021 Assembly elections. This included 1,15,917 male and 1,12,483 female voters, along with six voters from the third gender category. A total of 2,680 postal votes were recorded. The constituency also had 251 service voters, comprising 235 men and 16 women.
The West Bengal Assembly elections will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29. Voting in Siliguri is scheduled for the first phase on April 23.
