The original Canning Assembly seat was created in 1957. Between 1957 and 1972, the Congress party won five times, and the Bangla Congress won once. In 1977, the Delimitation Commission divided the seat into Canning Purba and Canning Paschim. Since then, Canning Purba has witnessed 10 elections. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) held sway through eight consecutive victories, with Abdur Razzak Molla as its representative. Molla won the seat eight times in a row, served as a Cabinet minister in the Left Front government between 1991 and 2011, and defeated Congress’s Ibrahim Molla by 21,113 votes in 2011. After his expulsion from CPI(M) in 2014, Molla joined Trinamool Congress and contested from Bhangar.
Canning Purba’s Left dominance ended in 2016. Ajijer Rahaman Molla of the CPI(M) lost to Saokat Molla of the Trinamool Congress by 55,034 votes. In 2021, the CPI(M) did not contest, ceding space to the Indian Secular Front. Saokat Molla retained the seat, defeating ISF’s Gaji Shahabuddin Siraji by 53,007 votes.
Trinamool Congress first asserted its dominance in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, leading over the Revolutionary Socialist Party by 45,699 votes in the Canning Purba segment. The BJP replaced the RSP as the main challenger, but the Trinamool Congress continued to widen the gap with large leads of 143,173 votes in 2019 and 166,224 in 2024, while the Left Front faded from relevance.
Canning Purba had 276,256 registered voters in 2024, an increase from 262,439 in 2021 and 239,469 in 2019. The constituency’s population is overwhelmingly rural, with 87.63 per cent living in villages and just 12.37 per cent in urban areas. Muslims form the largest community at 55.70 per cent, and Scheduled Castes make up about 30 per cent of voters. Voter turnout is consistently high, with 90.59 per cent in 2011, 87.74 per cent in 2016, 86.13 per cent in 2019, and 88.72 per cent in 2021.
Canning Purba is situated near the edge of the Sundarbans delta, a region defined by its wet climate, fertile soil, and the risk of flooding during the monsoon. The terrain features fields for rice farming and fisheries, with many communities relying on agriculture, aquaculture, and small local businesses to make a living. Basic infrastructure is improving, with paved roads connecting villages to Canning town, local schools, health centres, and local markets. The Canning railway station is a vital link to Kolkata and nearby district centres. Canning town is about 8 km from the middle of the constituency. Kolkata lies approximately 45 km away. Baruipur, the headquarters of the South 24 Parganas district, is around 25 km away. Diamond Harbour is 44 km from Canning Purba, and Alipore, a prominent city of the South 24 Parganas district, in Kolkata, is about 42 km from the constituency.
Given the large Muslim community and the continued dominance of the Trinamool Congress, the BJP faces an uphill battle in Canning Purba. Its main achievement has been to overtake the Left Front as Trinamool’s main opponent, but the gap remains wide. The Left Front shows little sign of revival, leaving the Trinamool Congress in a secure position to retain the seat in the 2026 Assembly elections.
(Ajay Jha)
