Narayangarh Assembly Election Results 2026

Narayangarh Assembly constituency is located in the Kharagpur subdivision of West Bengal’s Paschim Medinipur district. It is a general category seat comprising the entire Narayangarh community development block. The constituency was first established in 1951, did not feature in the 1957 elections, and was revived in 1962. Since its inception, it has gone to the polls 16 times.

In its early years, Narayangarh was a Congress stronghold, with the party winning four times. The political tide shifted dramatically in 1982, five years after the Left Front came to power in the state. From that year onward, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) held the seat for seven consecutive terms. Dr Surjya Kant Mishra, a senior CPI(M) leader and former state minister, represented Narayangarh five times in a row between 1991 and 2011. His defeat in 2016 to Trinamool Congress’s Prodyut Kumar Ghosh by 13,589 votes marked a turning point. The TMC retained the seat in 2021, fielding Surja Kanta Atta, who narrowly beat the BJP’s Rama Prasad Giri by just 2,416 votes.

Apart from the CPI(M)’s seven wins, Congress’s four, and the TMC’s two, the seat has also been won once each by the Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party, Bangla Congress, and an Independent candidate. The BJP’s rise in Narayangarh began to show in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections when Dilip Ghosh led the Medinipur parliamentary seat by 8,750 votes in this segment. The TMC bounced back in 2024, with its candidate June Maliah leading over the BJP’s Agnimitra Paul by 10,614 votes in the Narayangarh Assembly segment.

In the 2021 Assembly elections, Narayangarh had 243,832 registered voters. Scheduled Tribe voters made up 22.5 percent of the electorate, while Scheduled Caste voters accounted for 18.52 percent. The constituency is overwhelmingly rural, with over 97 percent of voters residing in villages. Voter turnout has consistently been high, standing at 89.30 percent in 2021 and 90.96 percent in 2016.

The terrain of Narayangarh is largely flat and fertile, typical of the western part of the Medinipur region. The Subarnarekha River flows near the constituency, influencing both agriculture and local ecology. Paddy, vegetables, and pulses are the main crops grown here. The economy is primarily agrarian, with limited industrial activity. Small-scale units and cottage industries exist, but employment opportunities are mostly tied to agriculture and seasonal migration to urban centres.

Infrastructure in Narayangarh is modest, with basic road connectivity and access to primary healthcare and education facilities. The town of Narayangarh serves as the local administrative centre. The district headquarters, Medinipur town, is located about 40 km away, while the state capital, Kolkata, lies roughly 150 km to the northeast. Other nearby towns include Kharagpur at a distance of 35 km, Dantan at 25 km, and Keshiary at 30 km. The Jharkhand border is not far off, with Chakulia in East Singhbhum district located around 45 km away, adding a cross-border dimension to the region’s connectivity and socio-economic interactions.

With the BJP’s surge in recent years and its strong performance in 2021, the ruling Trinamool Congress cannot expect to retain Narayangarh without a tough fight. The Left Front-Congress alliance, which has shown signs of revival, could also play a crucial role in splitting votes. Narayangarh is set to witness a multi-cornered contest in 2026, where each vote might matter in deciding the winner.

(Ajay Jha)