Dum Dum Uttar, a general category Assembly constituency, is located in the North 24 Parganas district and falls under the Dum Dum Lok Sabha seat. It comprises North Dum Dum Municipality and New Barrackpur Municipality, making it a fully urban constituency with no rural voters. As a suburb of Kolkata, it falls within the jurisdiction of the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority and is closely integrated with the city’s infrastructure and civic planning.
The constituency was created in 2011 following the 2008 Delimitation Commission’s recommendations. Prior to that, the area was part of the larger Dum Dum Assembly constituency. Since its inception, Dum Dum Uttar has gone to the polls three times. The Trinamool Congress won the first election in 2011, with Chandrima Bhattacharya defeating CPI(M)’s Rekha Goswami by 19,026 votes. In 2016, the CPI(M) reclaimed the seat, as Tanmoy Bhattacharya defeated Chandrima Bhattacharya by 6,549 votes. The tables turned again in 2021, when Chandrima Bhattacharya returned to win the seat, defeating BJP’s Dr. Archana Majumdar by a margin of 28,499 votes. Bhattacharya currently serves as a senior minister in the Mamata Banerjee-led government.
The BJP has been steadily gaining ground in Dum Dum Uttar, as reflected in the Lok Sabha elections. In both 2019 and 2024, the Trinamool Congress led over the BJP in this Assembly segment by narrow margins – 5,649 votes in 2019 and 6,302 votes in 2024. These figures suggest a tightening contest and a growing BJP presence in the area.
Dum Dum Uttar had 273,015 registered voters in the 2021 Assembly elections, up from 256,352 in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Voter turnout has consistently remained high, exceeding 80 per cent in recent elections.
Historically, Dum Dum has played a significant role in Bengal’s colonial and post-independence eras. The area was once home to the Dum Dum Arsenal, a British-era military facility known for manufacturing the controversial “Dum Dum bullets.” Over time, the region evolved into a densely populated urban zone, with a mix of residential colonies, commercial establishments and public institutions.
Dum Dum Uttar is well-connected by road and rail. The Dum Dum metro station, located nearby, is part of Kolkata Metro’s Blue Line and links the constituency to the city’s core. The metro station adjoins Dum Dum Junction, a major railway node. While the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport is located in Dum Dum, it does not fall within the boundaries of the Dum Dum Uttar constituency.
With the BJP’s growing foothold and the possibility of a revived CPI(M)-Congress alliance, the Trinamool Congress may face a stiff challenge in its bid to retain Dum Dum Uttar in the 2026 Assembly elections. The constituency’s urban character and shifting political loyalties make it one of the more closely watched seats in the northern suburbs of Kolkata.
(Ajay Jha)
