Kolkata, Apr 27 (PTI) In the fertile heartland of West Bengal, often described as the state’s “rice bowl”, several assembly constituencies are witnessing agrarian issues ahead of the upcoming polls.
Located in Purba Bardhaman district, which produces nearly 10 per cent of the state’s total rice output, seats like Bardhaman Uttar, Ketugram, Mangalkot and Ausgram form part of a belt also known for its high potato output.
These constituencies, once a stronghold of the Left, have a significant population of Muslims and Scheduled Castes.
Despite the district’s agricultural prominence, campaign narratives reveal a duality — rural distress over low crop pricing and procurement, and urban dissatisfaction over civic infrastructure.
Farmers across the belt say they are facing mounting economic stress as procurement bottlenecks, rising input costs, and volatile market prices undermine both paddy and potato cultivation.
Local cultivators allege that limited procurement infrastructure has created severe delays during peak harvesting periods. As a result, they are often compelled to sell their produce to private traders and middlemen at prices lower than the Minimum Support Price (MSP).
In Ausgram, a keen contest between TMC and BJP is on the cards, while CPI(M) is also a factor in the SC reserved seat.
In the 2021 assembly polls, TMC’s Abhedananda Thander retained the seat, defeating BJP’s Kalita Maji.
“People of Ausgram have consistently supported us because of our commitment to rural roads, irrigation and welfare schemes. We are confident they will bless us again,” Thander said.
BJP candidate Kalita Maji, however, expressed optimism about a turnaround. “There is a strong desire for change on the ground. Issues like unemployment and lack of industrial growth have not been addressed adequately,” he said.
Ausgram has seen fluctuating political fortunes over the years. While the Left Front had won Ausgram in 2011, the TMC wrested it in 2016 and has been holding it since then.
About challenges faced by farmers, a cultivator said, “MSP exists, but not for us. What we get depends on the trader, not the government.” In Mangalkot, Left candidates won 11 out of 16 assembly elections since 1962, and their support base stemmed from mass movements following devastating floods along the Ajay river in the 1940s.
In this seat, Scheduled Castes and Muslims constitute over 63 per cent of the electorate, making them a decisive factor in electoral outcomes, said local college Professor Srijib Basu.
Even after the fall of the Left Front government in West Bengal in 2011, CPI(M) retained Mangalkot, with its candidate Sahajahan Choudhury narrowly defeating TMC’s Apurba Chowdhury by just 126 votes. However, TMC wrested the seat in 2016.
In 2026, TMC re-nominated Apurba Chowdhury, who defeated BJP’s Rana Pratap Goswami by 22,337 votes the previous time, pushing CPI(M) further to the margins.
Besides paddy, wheat, pulses, oilseeds, jute and vegetables are also cultivated in Mangalkot, depending on irrigation facilities. Non-farm activities include rice mills, cold storages, brick kilns and rural markets.
Amit Kuilya, a potato grower, said, “We have adopted high-yielding varieties, supported by improved irrigation and cropping intensity. But higher production has not translated into stable incomes.” Unlike paddy, potatoes do not benefit from an effective MSP-backed procurement system, leaving farmers entirely exposed to market fluctuations, Kuilya said.
The BJP is attempting to tap into the “growing anti-incumbency” against the TMC government and focusing on consolidating Hindu votes, especially in areas with mixed populations.
The TMC has countered by highlighting rural infrastructure development, irrigation projects, and direct benefit schemes.
Farmers’ issues, particularly paddy procurement and potato price volatility, have emerged as major talking points. Simultaneously, urban clusters such as Guskara are seeing campaigns centred around unemployment, civic amenities, and local infrastructure gaps.
In the Ketugram constituency, TMC fielded sitting MLA Sekh Sahonawez, who is seeking a fourth consecutive term. He is up against BJP nominee Anadi Ghosh, along with candidates from parties like ISF and AJUP.
In the predominantly rural constituency, Muslims account for around 34 per cent of the population, while Scheduled Castes make up over 30 per cent.
The seat was once a bastion of the CPI(M), which secured victory nine times. Since 2011, however, political equations have shifted decisively in favour of the TMC.
TMC’s Sekh Sahonawez has held the seat through three successive elections and was fielded again.
Sahonawez said people of different communities have coexisted peacefully in the region and benefited from various welfare schemes introduced by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. He also credited state initiatives such as farmer support programmes for easing agrarian distress.
Ghosh accused the TMC of neglecting locals and prioritising outsiders, claiming it posed risks to regional stability.
In the nearby Bardhaman Uttar (SC) seat, the ruling TMC seeks to retain its dominance amid the rise of the BJP as the principal challenger.
While Nisith Kumar Malik is contesting from TMC, Sanjoy Das was fielded by BJP. Congress and CPI(M) nominated Sudip Das and Mamoni Mondal, respectively.
Reserved for Scheduled Castes, the constituency has historically been a Left stronghold, with the CPI(M) winning it 11 times till 2016.
The local economy is primarily agriculture-driven, though small-scale industries, trade and transport activities have been expanding due to improved connectivity as the constituency is well linked by road and rail to Bardhaman, Durgapur, Asansol and Kolkata. PTI SUS NN
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