The Cooch Behar Lok Sabha constituency, one of West Bengal's 42 seats, lies in the state's northern region and is reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates. With a population of approximately 20 lakh, the Rajbanshi vote holds significant sway in this area. Cooch Behar will go to the polls in the first phase of polling on April 19.
The constituency witnessed large-scale political violence before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the 2021 Assembly elections and the 2023 Panchayat elections.
Formerly a stronghold of the Left Front's partner, the Forward Bloc, which secured victory for an uninterrupted 32 years from 1977 to 2009, Cooch Behar has now emerged as a BJP stronghold, with the Left vote share falling to just 3% in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Despite the Trinamool Congress' landslide win in the 2021 state polls, the BJP controls five of the seven Assembly segments here.
In an attempt to court the Rajbanshi community, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has undertaken several initiatives, including the establishment of a development and welfare board, creation of language academies, and recognition of Rajbanshi-medium schools. However, the rising stature of the TMC poses a threat to the BJP's dominance in North Bengal and may impact its vote share in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The current MP representing Cooch Behar is BJP's Nisith Pramanik, who secured victory by a margin exceeding 50,000 votes in the 2019 general elections. Rajbanshis constitute over 35% of the constituency's population, making their support crucial for candidates.
This time Pramanik is being challenged by fellow Rajbanshi, Trinamool Congress’s Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia.
The Congress has fielded Priya Roy Choudhury as its candidate, while the Forward Bloc has nominated Nitish Chandra Roy.
Both Congress and the Forward Bloc remain marginal players here. It’s now a direct face-off between TMC and BJP.
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