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After nearly three decades, the Indian National Congress has fielded candidates in all nine Assembly seats in the Asansol-Durgapur region of West Burdwan district.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress secured 4.7 per cent of the vote in the state. However, in the industrial and coal heartland, the party retains a significant presence due to its trade union wing, the INTUC. Party leaders believe the vote share is likely to improve in this election.
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Not only are the candidates locally known and popular, but after three decades the Pradesh Congress Committee has been able to nominate strong contenders in Asansol-Durgapur, including its district president Debesh Chakraborty and prominent leader Prasenjit Puitundi.
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The last time the Congress fielded candidates in all nine seats in the Asansol-Durgapur region was in 1986, when it won three seats ~ Tapas Banerjee from Asansol, Shyamadas Banerjee from Hirapur and Manik Upadhyay from Barabani.
While the late Manik Upadhyay’s son, Bidhan Upadhyay, is now the Trinamul Congress (TMC) candidate from Barabani, Tapas Banerjee is the TMC candidate for Asansol South.
Since then, the Congress has entered into alliances with the TMC and the Left Front in successive elections and has not contested all nine Assembly seats in the region.
The Congress has released a list of 284 candidates and has fielded nominees in all nine Assembly seats of West Burdwan district. These include Kulti, Barabani, Hirapur, Asansol South, Raniganj, Jamuria, Ukhra, Durgapur East and Durgapur West.
In the 1996 Assembly elections, the Congress fielded candidates in all seats in the Asansol-Durgapur region, which at the time included Kulti, Barabani, Hirapur, Asansol, Raniganj, Jamuria, Ukhra and a unified Durgapur segment.
In 2001, the Congress entered into an alliance with the Trinamul Congress, after which the region was divided between the partners. The Congress contested seats such as Raniganj and Durgapur but failed to win any.
In 2006, the Congress contested independently and fielded candidates in all seats, but did not win any, although it finished second in some constituencies.
In 2011, the Congress again allied with the Trinamul Congress but failed to secure any seats in the region.
In 2016, the Congress fought in alliance with the Left parties, and the alliance won seats such as Kulti, Asansol South and Jamuria.
In 2021, the Congress again contested in alliance but failed to win any seat in the Asansol-Durgapur region.
The Congress has announced the following candidates: Pandaveswar – Uttam Kumar Ray; Durgapur East – Debesh Chakraborty; Durgapur West – Tarun Ray; Raniganj – Faiz Ahmed; Jamuria – Tapan Kumar Ganguly; Asansol South – Shaikh Mukti; Asansol North – Prasenjit Puitundi; Kulti – Ravi Yadav; Barabani – Jaydev Ray.
Though the Congress may not have a major impact in the upcoming Assembly polls in West Burdwan district, the presence of its candidates in all nine seats could prove decisive. Owing to the strong presence of the INTUC among industrial, coal, railway and insurance workers in the Asansol-Durgapur belt, the party retains a pocket vote bank and could act as a spoiler, political observers say.
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