Cooch Behar Lok Sabha Constituency
Constituency number: 1
Total electors: 16,13,417 (2014 estimates)
Male electors: 8,48,649
Female Electors: 7,64,768
Assembly Constituencies: Mathabhanga (SC), Coochbehar Uttar, Coochbehar Dakshin, Sitalkuchi (SC), Sitai (SC), Dinhata, Natabari
Reserved: Yes. For Scheduled Castes
Delimitation: Yes, the boundaries of the constituencies were redrawn after 2008 order.
Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: This constituency has historically elected candidates of the All India Forward Bloc (AIFB). In 1999, Amrendranath Roy of the AIFB won the seat. The AIFB continued its winning streak in 2004 and 2009 elections too. In 2004, Hiten Barman defeated his TMC rival to win the seat. In 2009, TMC gave a tougher fight to AIFB candidate Nripendra Nath Roy, yet lost by a margin of 40,000 votes. In 2014, Renuka Roy of the Trinamool Congress won the seat. After her untimely death in 2016, the Partha Pratim Ray of the TMC won the seat in the bypoll.
Demographics: Many consider Cooch Behar to be one of the most neglected regions of Bengal. The local population in this constituency, apart from Bengalis, consist of Koch Rajbanshis, who claim to be the original inhabitants of the region of Cooch Behar. Classified as Scheduled Caste in West Bengal, the Koch Rajbanshis are a crucial vote-bank for every party in the constituency.