Rashbehari, a general category Assembly constituency, is located in the heart of Kolkata and forms part of the Kolkata Dakshin Lok Sabha seat. It comprises nine wards of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. The constituency includes some of the city’s most well-known neighbourhoods, such as Ballygunge, Lake Market, Deshapriya Park, Southern Avenue, Hindustan Park and parts of Gariahat. These areas are known for their mix of upscale residential zones, bustling markets and cultural landmarks.
Established in 1957, Rashbehari has gone to the polls 17 times, including a by-election in 1998. The Congress and the Trinamool Congress have each won the seat six times, while Independent candidate Bejoy Kumar Banerjee secured three consecutive victories in 1962, 1967 and 1969. The Praja Socialist Party and the CPI(M) won the seat once each, in 1957 and 1977, respectively. The Congress party was dominant in the early decades, but its influence waned after Mamata Banerjee broke away and formed the Trinamool Congress. The new party won the seat in the 1998 bypoll and has remained unbeaten since.
Senior minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, a founding member of the Trinamool Congress, held the seat for five consecutive terms from 1998 to 2016. In 2021, he shifted to Bhabanipur, and Debasish Kumar was fielded in the Rashbehari seat by the Trinamool Congress. Kumar won the seat comfortably, defeating the BJP’s Lt. Gen. (Dr.) Subrata Saha by 21,414 votes, improving upon Chattopadhyay’s 2016 margin of 14,553 votes.
The BJP, however, signalled its growing presence in the constituency during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, trailing the Trinamool Congress by just 1,691 votes in the Rashbehari Assembly segment. This narrow gap has put the ruling party on alert ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.
Rashbehari had 206,013 registered voters in the 2021 Assembly elections, up from 199,083 in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Being a purely urban seat, it has consistently recorded lower voter turnout compared to rural constituencies. In 2021, the turnout stood at 60.41 per cent, one of the lowest in recent years.
The constituency is well-served by Kolkata’s urban infrastructure. Major roads such as Rashbehari Avenue, Southern Avenue and Gariahat Road run through the area, connecting it to other parts of the city. Public transport is widely available, with a dense network of buses, auto-rickshaws and taxis. The Kolkata Metro’s Blue Line passes through the constituency, with stations like Kalighat and Rabindra Sarobar providing easy access to commuters. The area is also close to the South City Mall and several educational institutions, hospitals and cultural centres, making it one of the most well-connected and vibrant parts of the city.
While the Trinamool Congress can approach the 2026 Assembly elections with confidence, the BJP’s rising vote share and near parity in the 2024 parliamentary polls suggest a tough contest ahead. The seat remains in play, with every vote likely to count in what promises to be a closely watched electoral battle.
(Ajay Jha)
