West Bengal Assembly election 2021, Tufanganj profile: TMC aims to retain constituency with sizeable Nashya Sekh population

The Assembly/Vidhan Sabha constituency of Tufanganj is located in the Cooch Behar district of West Bengal. It falls under the Alipuardar (ST) Lok Sabha constituency. The constituency, reserved for Scheduled Tribes candidates, has 2,25,550 electors and 252 polling stations.

Voter turnout in previous election

The voter turnout in Tufanganj in the previous Assembly election was 90.13 percent.

Past election results and winners

In the 2016 West Bengal Assembly election, Fazal Karim Miah of the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) won the Tufanganj seat. The TMC, BJP and Congress got 44.21 percent, 15.52 percent and 36.27 percent votes, respectively in the 2016 polls. Trinamool’s Arghya Roy was the MLA from the seat in 2011, preceded by Congress candidates since 1977 and CPI candidates prior to 1977. As per the estimates of the 2011 Census, out of the total 2,70,610-strong population, 88.24 percent is rural and 11.76 percent is urban. Tufanganj is among the constituencies where the Muslim voter percentage is between 19 and 30 percent, while Nashya Sekhs are about 8-9 percent. According to West Bengal government records, “The Nashya Sekh class was stated to emerge as a result of conversion from the Koch, Rajbongshi and the Poliya classes of North Bengal from the 15th to 18th century. At present, they are the most downtrodden, underprivileged, and socially and educationally backward classes of people in West Bengal. They are also not economically well off.” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee specifically mentioned the Nashya Sekhs in a public meeting in the district on 16 December, pointing to the sway the community holds in North Bengal. The Tufanganj subdivision witnessed clashes between two TMC groups in November in an alleged attempt to gain control of the area by the two lobbies, leading to the detention of 16 party supporters. The Tufanganj 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).