West Bengal Assembly election 2021, Mal profile: CPM seeks to ward off BJP in stronghold

The Assembly/Vidhan Sabha constituency of Mal (ST) is located in the Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal. It falls under the Jalpaiguri (SC) Lok Sabha constituency.

The constituency, reserved for Scheduled Tribes candidates, has 2,41,650 electors and 268 polling stations.

Voter turnout in previous election
The voter turnout in Mal in the previous Assembly election was 84.26 percent.

Past election results and winners
In the 2016 West Bengal Assembly election, Bulu Chik Baraik of the Trinamool Congress won the Mal seat, with 84,877 votes. Baraik also won from the seat in 2011, on a CPM ticket. CPM candidates have held the seat since 1977. The Mal constutiency was called Western Duars between 1951 and 1957.

As per the estimates of 2011 Census, out of total 3,24,774-strong population, of which 84.79 percent is rural and 15.21 percent is urban.

The constituency saw a defection in August last year when BJP’s Balimram Ekka switched camps to Trinamool Congress. He was among the few leaders who had defected to the Mamata Banerjee-led party, prompting the BJP to launch efforts to recruit more leaders into its fold.

The Mal Assembly constituency is expected to go to polls in April or May 2021, as part of the West Bengal Assembly election 2021.

The West Bengal Assembly polls will be held to elect a total of 294 Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs).