Trinamool Congress Loses Kolkata Grip as Anti-Incumbency Wave Hits Urban Fortress
Trinamool Congress Loses Kolkata Grip in Anti-Incumbency Wave

Trinamool Congress's traditional grip on Kolkata was shattered on Monday as a wave of anti-incumbency tore through its urban fortress, leaving a trail of high-profile electoral casualties that included party chief Mamata Banerjee and several ministers.

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In a staggering reversal of its 2021 performance — where the party swept all 16 seats in the city — Trinamool was reduced to a mere six seats this time, with heavyweights from the KMC mayor-in-council also biting the dust.

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Electors in the city's southern suburbs voted for change, making way for BJP's entry in constituencies like Jadavpur and Sonarpur, which were Trinamool strongholds. Despite the winds of change that swept through the city's suburbs on southern fringes, the people of Kasba did not deviate from their old choice and voted in favour of Trinamool.

The scale of the collapse was most evident in the defeat of several senior ministers who were considered the architects of the party's urban machinery. Shashi Panja suffered a shock defeat in the Shyampukur constituency at the hands of lesser-known Purnima Chakraborty, an RSS ideologue whose only experience was contesting the corporation election earlier. Similarly, Aroop Biswas, the influential power minister and a key organiser in south Kolkata, lost his seat in Tollygunge, an area long considered a safe haven for the party. Biswas lost to actor Papia Adhikary.

The administrative leadership of the city also faced a public trial. Atin Ghosh, the deputy mayor of Kolkata and a prominent face during the city's health crises, lost from the Belgachhia-Cossipore segment. The rout extended to his MMiC colleagues as well — Debasish Kumar from Rashbehari and Debabrata Majumdar from Jadavpur.

Ratna Chatterjee, an outgoing MLA and former councillor, was also among the high-profile losers in Behala West. The constituency had earlier elected former education minister Partha Chatterjee for five terms since 2001. Oncologist Indranil Khan emerged the winner this time.

In a day of otherwise grim news for the ruling camp, a few senior leaders managed to retain their ground in what were described as "face-saving" victories. Mayor Firhad Hakim secured the Kolkata Port seat, while veteran leader Sobhandeb Chatterjee won in Ballygunge. State minister Javed Ahmed Khan won for the fourth consecutive time in Kasba. Party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh also provided a rare bright spot by winning the Beliaghata constituency. Veteran politician Nayana Bandyopadhyay bagged Chowrangee and Sandipan Saha won from Entally.

The BJP won seats such as Kashipur-Belgachhia, Shyampukur, Maniktala and Jorasanko, which had remained with Trinamool since the 'Paribartan' in 2011. Heavyweight Trinamool candidates and cabinet ministers like Shashi Panja were defeated by BJP candidate Purnima Chakraborty by a margin of 14,633 votes. Deputy mayor Atin Ghosh was defeated this time by BJP candidate Ritesh Tiwari by 1,651 votes.

In Jorasanko, Vijay Ojha got 52,868 votes, while Trinamool candidate Vijay Upadhyay secured 47,071 votes and lost by a margin of 5,797. In 2021, former Trinamool MLA Vivek Gupta won by a margin of 12,743 votes over BJP candidate Meena Devi Purohit. Although Maniktala had been a Trinamool bastion since 2011, when Sadhan Pande won the seat, and after his death in 2024 his wife Supti Pande also secured a record victory, this time their daughter Shreya Pande was defeated by BJP candidate Tapas Roy, a veteran politician, by 15,644 votes. On the outskirts, Bhangar was won by ISF's Naushad Siddiqui, who defeated influential south Kolkata leader Saokat Molla. Veteran actor Rupa Ganguly defeated her junior Lovely Maitra, the MLA in Sonarpur South. In the Sonarpur North constituency, BJP's Debasish Dhar was leading by over 11,000 over Trinamool MLA Firdousi Begum.

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