In the 2026 West Bengal Assembly election for the Kashipur-Belgachhia constituency (number 168), Ritesh Tiwari of the Bharatiya Janata Party secured a narrow victory with 68,368 votes. He defeated the All India Trinamool Congress candidate Atin Ghosh, who polled 66,717 votes. The winning margin was a slim 1,651 votes, making it one of the closest contests in the constituency.
Key Candidates and Vote Share
The CPI(M) candidate Rajendra Gupta finished a distant third with 11,151 votes. Congress and independent candidates trailed far behind. The NOTA option received 1,250 votes. The close margin reflects a significant shift from the 2021 election when TMC's Atin Ghosh won by a comfortable margin of approximately 35,390 votes.
Constituency Profile
Kashipur-Belgachhia is an entirely urban seat in the Kolkata district, falling under the Kolkata Uttar Lok Sabha constituency. It covers wards 1 to 6 of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, including the neighbourhoods of Kashipur, Belgachhia, and parts of Cossipore in northern Kolkata. The constituency was formed after the 2008 delimitation exercise from the earlier Cossipore and Belgachhia segments.
Historical Election Trends
In the 2021 election, Atin Ghosh won the seat for the TMC, defeating BJP's Sibaji Sinha Roy by about 35,390 votes, securing around 56 per cent of valid votes. This was a comfortable victory, underscoring the TMC's strong hold on this predominantly working-class urban constituency. In 2016, the TMC's Mala Saha held the seat, winning against the CPI(M) candidate by nearly 24,979 votes, again reflecting the party's dominance in north Kolkata. Mala Saha also won the inaugural 2011 election from the seat by a large margin.
Demographics and Voter Turnout
Kashipur-Belgachhia has a small but notable Scheduled Caste population. Voter turnout is modest at around 60 per cent. The 2024 Lok Sabha polling showed the BJP narrowing the gap significantly, polling over 40 per cent in this segment, which made the 2026 contest considerably more competitive than previous assembly results suggested.
Implications for 2026 Elections
This result indicates a potential shift in voter sentiment in the urban constituencies of Kolkata, with the BJP making inroads into traditional TMC strongholds. The narrow victory highlights the increasing competitiveness of the Kashipur-Belgachhia seat, which may have implications for future elections in the region.
