Rejinagar Assembly Election 2024

The Congress party won the inaugural election in 2011, then in alliance with the Trinamool Congress. Humayun Kabir secured the seat by defeating the Revolutionary Socialist Party’s Sirajul Islam Mondal by 8,761 votes. Kabir later switched to the Trinamool Congress, triggering the 2013 by-election. His move, however, did not sit well with the electorate, and he finished third. Congress candidate Rabiul Alam Chowdhury won that bypoll, defeating Mondal by an increased margin of 11,722 votes. Chowdhury retained the seat in 2016, defeating Kabir, who contested as an Independent after being denied a TMC ticket, by 5,560 votes. In a twist of political fate, Chowdhury too joined the Trinamool Congress ahead of the 2021 elections and won his third consecutive term, this time with a massive margin of 68,226 votes over BJP’s Arabinda Biswas. The Congress party, once dominant, slipped to third place, while the BJP emerged as the second choice for voters.

The Trinamool Congress further cemented its position in Rejinagar during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Former Indian cricketer Yusuf Pathan, its candidate from Bahrampur, led in the Rejinagar segment by 42,128 votes over senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Choudhary, indicating a clear shift in voter preference.

Rejinagar had 259,771 registered voters in the 2021 Assembly elections, which rose to 271,524 in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. According to estimates based on the 2011 Census, Muslims make up around 65.10 per cent of the electorate, followed by Scheduled Castes at 6.72 per cent. The constituency is entirely rural, with no urban voters. Voter turnout has traditionally been high, although it has shown a gradual decline from 82.34 per cent in 2016 to 81.10 per cent in 2021, and further down to 76.88 per cent in 2024.

Geographically, Rejinagar lies in the Berhampore subdivision of Murshidabad district, straddling the Rarh and Bagri physiographic regions. The terrain is mostly flat and fertile, shaped by the presence of rivers like the Bhagirathi and Jalangi, which support agriculture and irrigation. Paddy, jute and mustard are the primary crops grown here. The economy is largely agrarian, with limited industrial activity. Infrastructure remains modest, with National Highway 12 and the Ranaghat-Lalgola railway line providing basic connectivity. Rejinagar railway station, opened in 1905, continues to serve as a key transit point.

The nearest town is Beldanga, located about 9 km away, while Berhampore, the district headquarters, lies roughly 20 km to the west. Other nearby towns include Kandi and Salar. The state capital, Kolkata, is approximately 200 km away and is accessible by both road and rail. Rejinagar does not directly border Bangladesh, but Murshidabad district shares an international boundary with the neighbouring country, which may partly explain the high concentration of Muslim voters in the region. The demographic composition has remained largely stable over the past few decades, with no major shifts reported.

Given the strong showing by the Trinamool Congress in both the 2021 Assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the party enters the 2026 contest with a clear advantage. The Congress and Left Front, despite contesting as allies, finished behind the BJP in the 2021 elections, underscoring their waning influence. The BJP’s strategy of fielding a Hindu candidate in a Muslim-majority seat may be more symbolic than strategic. Its only realistic chance lies in the Congress-Left alliance improving its performance and managing to split the Muslim vote. Otherwise, the Trinamool Congress looks set to retain Rejinagar with relative ease. 

(Ajay Jha)