High-voltage contest in Kolkata Port: Mayor Firhad Hakim to face off against BJP's Rakesh Singh

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], April 19 : As the West Bengal Assembly polls draw closer, a high-stakes battle is brewing in the prestigious Kolkata Port Assembly constituency, where senior TMC leader and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim is locked in a fierce contest against BJP's strongman candidate Rakesh Singh.

Firhad Hakim is a long-standing TMC stronghold, as he has held the seat continuously since 2011.

The Congress has nominated Aquib Gulzar, while the CPI(M) has fielded Faiyaz Ahmad Khan in the contest.

The constituency has seen its electoral roll shrink to 1.75 lakh after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). Muslims form a major chunk of the electorate in the seat, which also has a significant number of basti (slum) areas. Hindus also play an important role in deciding the outcome.

The entire election cycle has been overshadowed by a dramatic shake-up of West Bengal's electoral rolls under the Special Intensive Revision process. The deletions have triggered sharp exchanges between the TMC and the BJP, with both parties trading barbs over the intention behind the process.

In the last assembly election in the state, held in eight phases in 2021, the Trinamool Congress recorded a landslide victory with 213 seats amid an intense contest with the BJP, which jumped to 77 seats. Congress and Left Front drew a blank in the last state polls.

In the previous 2021 elections, Hakim secured a landslide victory by polling over one lakh votes and maintaining a dominant sixty-nine per cent vote share. This commanding lead of more than sixty-eight thousand votes over his nearest rival established the constituency as one of the safest seats for the Trinamool Congress in the city. However, the political landscape for the 2026 battle is seeing a shift with the entry of aggressive opposition faces and a consolidated challenge from the Left-Congress alliance.

The opposition camp is looking to capitalise on local urban issues and anti-incumbency.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has signalled a tough fight by fielding Rakesh Singh.

While the Indian National Congress has placed its bet on Aquib Gulzar. Adding to the multi-cornered contest is the CPI-M candidate Faiyaz Khan, who is attempting to mobilise the traditional labour and working-class votes associated with the port area.

According to the election schedule, polling in West Bengal will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29, while the results will be declared on May 4.

West Bengal has a total of 294 Assembly seats, with the majority mark set at 148.

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.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor