TMC counts on its good work at Dum Dum for victory
The Statesman | 19 April 2026
Dum Dum Assembly constituency is one of those seats where the Trinamul Congress is confident of its victory.
Bratya Basu, the sitting Trinamul Congress MLA and the state education minister, is fighting against Mayukh Biswas of CPI-M and Abhijit Bakshi of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Both the CPI-M and BJP have fielded new candidates. In 2021, the BJP had fielded Bimal Shankar Nanda whereas Palas Das fought on CPI-M ticket.
Twenty two wards of Dum Dum Municipality and wards from 1-17 of South Dum Dum Municipality constitute Dum Dum Assembly seat. In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Professor Saugata Roy defeated Sujan Chakraborty of CPI-M.
Theatre personality-politician Mr Basu rose to fame when he defeated CPI-M heavyweight and former state housing and PHE minister Gautam Deb in the 2011 Assembly election.
In 2026 Mr Basu started his election journey on a sticky wicket. Many councillors of Dum Dum municipality were against him. But as time passed, Mr Basu successfully won the councillors on his side, and now every local political leader’s sole aim is to increase the lead of Mr Basu.
Dum Dum over the years has undergone a sea change. High-rise buildings and housing complexes have come up along with shopping malls across the area. The area is brightly illuminated and infrastructure which included garbage removal and upgrade of roads has been done. There is traffic jam in the morning and evening peak hours and local people said a road over bridge is required to address this long-standing issue.
In the past five years, Mr Basu has made it a point to meet the local residents and listen to their grievances every Saturday in the office of South Dum Dum Municipality. He has a band of dedicated workers, who throughout the year keep track of the residents, who in turn know that in times of need Trinamul Congress will be by their side.
Following Mr Basu’s initiative, a state-run English medium school has been opened in Dum Dum. He personally takes interest in improving the infrastructure of the school. Community halls have been opened where social events are held. The auditoriums have been upgraded.
The BJP counts on its large Hindu vote bank. The saffron party is relying on them and the main thrust of their campaign is consolidation of its vote bank. The deletion of names from the voters’ list has antagonised them against the saffron party and the campaigners find it difficult to answer their queries regarding the matter.
Dum Dum was originally a CPI-M base. After Partition in 1947, thousands of refugees migrated from erstwhile East Pakistan and settled in Dum Dum.
Abhijit Bakshi, who is contesting for the first time, is confident of his win. Though he is unable to face a volley of questions asked by the residents regarding deletion of names in the SIR during his door-to-door campaign, he said: “The people of Dum Dum want a change. They have welcomed me and have a series of complaints regarding civic issues. If voted to power, I will ensure that a comprehensive plan to ease traffic will be made and a road over is set up. I’ve spoken to a large number of residents and with the ECI making stringent arrangements to stop false voting, I am confident of my victory.”
In 2021, the Left voters shifted their allegiance in the Assembly election to the BJP and the CPI-M got only 16.54 per cent votes and the BJP got 37.06 per cent votes. In the 2016 Assembly election, the CPI-M secured 41.40 per cent votes and the BJP got 8.34 per cent votes.
Local CPI-M leaders said Mr Biswas has acceptability among the residents and he will do well in the election. If their predictions come true, the CPI-M will secure second position and Mr Basu’s lead will go up. Mr Basu is taking part in street corner meetings and road shows. Local people said the wind is in favour of Mr Basu and he will have no problem in retaining the seat for the fourth consecutive time.