NEW DELHI: Sitting Kanthi Dakshin MLA Arup Kumar Das of the Bharatiya Janata Party retained his seat in the Purba Medinipur district constituency, defeating Trinamool Congress candidate Tarun Kumar Jana by a margin of 31,472 votes. According to the Election Commission of India, Das secured 118,219 votes while Jana received 86,747 votes.
Previous Election Performance
In the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, Das won the seat with 98,477 votes (51% of the vote share), defeating AITC's Jyotirmoy Kar who polled 88,184 votes (45%) by a margin of 10,293 votes. The constituency has seen a significant shift in voter allegiance over the years.
Key Issues in Kanthi Dakshin
During the campaign, several key issues resonated with voters in this semi-urban constituency. Urban infrastructure strain in Kanthi municipality and Kanthi-I CD block emerged as a primary concern. Road connectivity between gram panchayats like Durmuth and Kusumpur required improvement. Drinking water supply remained a pressing issue amid rapid suburban growth. Flood control, health facilities, schools, and local employment opportunities were also prominent topics of discussion.
The constituency has a Scheduled Caste population of 11.15% and a literacy rate of 87.66%, reflecting its semi-urban character.
Historical Context
Arup Das flipped the seat from the All India Trinamool Congress, which had held it since 2011. Previously, AITC's Adhikari Dibyendu won in 2011 and 2016 with margins of 28,637 and 33,890 votes respectively. The seat had been under the Adhikari family's influence since Suvendu Adhikari's victory in 2006. Kanthi Dakshin falls under the Kanthi Lok Sabha constituency, which was retained by BJP's Soumendu Adhikari in the 2024 general elections by a margin of 47,764 votes. This string of BJP victories from the assembly to the parliamentary level marks a decisive shift from the TMC's earlier control in this coastal hub of southern Medinipur.
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