Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury returns to state politics, faces incumbent BJP MLA Subrata Maitra in fight for survival at Berhampore

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary, a five-time MP from Bahrampur Lok Sabha constituency, returned after a huge upset in the 2024 Lok Sabha election against Trinamool Congress's cricketer-turned-politician Yusuf Pathan by a margin of more than 85,022 votes.

After the defeat, Chowdhary resigned from the post of West Bengal Congress President, taking responsibility for the party's failure in the state.

As Chowdhury looks to reclaim his erstwhile bastion, Berhampore assembly constituency in the Bangladesh-bordering Murshidabad district, he is faced with a nail-biting triangular contest.

BJP MLA Subrata Maitra, in 2021, broke Congress dominance in this assembly seat, pushing three-time MLA Manoj Chakraborty to a third spot and humbling TMC's Naru Gopal Mukherjee by a margin of almost 27,000 votes

Subrata Maitra, the first BJP legislator from Berhampore, is known for intense door-to-door campaigning, a strategy that he will again prefer to waive off the Congress heavyweight.

Baharampur Assembly constituency covers Berhampore municipality, and five gram panchayats, Bhakuri I, Daulatabad, Gurudaspur, Hatinagar and Manindranagar, two of which are Muslim majority, but overall it is the Hindus that decide the ultimate winner with nearly a 70 per cent vote share.

With the BJP's constant concerns over the demographic change and backdrop of Murshidabad violence of 2025, polarisation along the religious lines is likely to decide the fate of this constituency.

The Berhampore town was established in 1757 following the Battle of Plassey. The town became one of the earliest administrative and military bases of the East India Company in India. The town evolved into a commercial hub attracting the Dutch and French traders, along with the British.

In the 2021 Assembly elections, the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) secured a decisive victory, winning 213 seats with a vote share of 48.5 per cent.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the main opposition, winning 77 seats with a vote share of 38.5 per cent. Smaller players, including RSPMA and Independent candidates, won one seat each. The total declared seats stood at 292.

In comparison, the 2016 Assembly elections also saw AITC dominate, winning 211 seats with a 45.6 per cent vote share. The Indian National Congress secured 44 seats with 12.4 per cent votes, while the CPI(M) won 26 seats with a 20.1 per cent vote share. Other parties, including the BIP and RCP, won three seats each, while Independents secured one seat. The 'Others' category accounted for six seats with a 7.7 per cent vote share.

With both the TMC and BJP intensifying their efforts, Berhampore is set to play an important part in determining the outcome of the upcoming Assembly elections. (ANI)