NEW DELHI: Asima Patra, representing the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), emerged victorious in the Dhanekhali constituency during the 2026 West Bengal Assembly Election. Patra secured 1,23,462 votes, defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Barnali Das by a margin of 13,057 votes. Das received 1,10,405 votes in the tightly contested race.
Other Candidates and Voting Details
CPI(ML) Liberation's Ruma Ahiri finished third with 4,907 votes, followed by Congress's Jyoti Kumari Das with 3,358 votes. A total of seven candidates contested from Dhanekhali, along with the None of the Above (NOTA) option.
Constituency Profile
Dhanekhali (constituency no. 197), also spelled Dhaniakhali, is a Scheduled Caste-reserved seat located in the Hooghly district. It forms part of the Hooghly Lok Sabha constituency and is situated within the Hooghly-Damodar Plain. The area is particularly noted for the Dhanekhali tant (handloom) sari, a distinctive local textile tradition that lends the region its cultural identity. The constituency is predominantly rural, with agriculture and handloom weaving serving as primary livelihoods.
Historical Election Trends
In the 2021 assembly election, TMC's Asima Patra won the seat. The TMC also held Dhanekhali in 2016. The constituency, reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates, has remained within the TMC's political orbit since 2011.
Key Issues and Policy Focus
The handloom sector, which supports a large number of weavers, has been a recurring policy issue in the constituency. Candidates have frequently debated which party has done more to sustain the tant weaving industry, making it a central theme in election campaigns.
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