Sharp voter deletion may turn X factor in fight for Shyampukur
Times of India | 25 April 2026
Kolkata: In north Kolkata's tightly packed political theatre, which saw one of the fiercest Trinamool-BJP pre-poll clashes, Sashi Panja is fighting an election that is as much about arithmetic as it is about narrative.
One of the top confidantes of CM Mamata Banerjee and a three-term MLA from Shyampukur in north Kolkata, where her father-in-law and former Union MoS Ajit Panja was once a key political player, Panja finds herself at the centre of the storm over the SIR process — ironically both as a critic and a perceived beneficiary.
Her constituency has seen one of the sharpest voter deletions in the city, with over 46,000 names struck off, including more than 42,000 in the first draft itself. Yet Panja is blunt about the churn. "Many of these were shifted or dead voters, especially those who lived in New Town but voted here. Most voted against us. Their absence will help me widen my lead," she says, framing the purge as a political correction rather than a setback.
She is also turning the SIR controversy into a counter-narrative. She is reaching out particularly to Hindu and non-Bengali households where women's names have been deleted, arguing that the BJP and the Election Commission have stripped them of their democratic rights. "People are realising who the real villain is," she says, betting on resentment translating into votes.
Shyampukur is no ordinary seat. Stretching across Shyambazar, Hatibagan, Sonagachhi, Shovabazar, Ahiritola and Kumortuli, it is a dense mosaic of Bengali and non-Bengali voters, old aristocratic homes, red-light districts and some of Kolkata's grandest Durga Puja committees. Panja's campaign mirrors this diversity — early morning walks, megaphone-led outreach and relentless padayatras through narrow lanes where politics is intimate and immediate.
Historically, the seat belonged to the Left, with the Forward Bloc winning it 10 times. Congress had its moments, too. But since 2011, Trinamool has turned it into a fortress, with Panja at the helm. Her electoral numbers underline that dominance: 53,507 votes in 2016 (46.9%) and 55,785 in 2021 (54.7%), with victory margins expanding even as the BJP surged to become the principal challenger.
That surge is now the core of the contest. The BJP, riding on a steady climb from a marginal 3.6% vote share in 2011 to over 32% in 2021, sees Shyampukur as ripe for a breakthrough. In fact, the party had a lead of 1,000-plus votes in the Lok Sabha elections 2024 in this seat. BJP is pushing a twin narrative — civic neglect and women's safety — directly targeting Panja's portfolio as women and child development minister. Incidents like RG Kar, Sandeshkhali and Kaliaganj have become political ammunition, repeatedly invoked to question governance.
The BJP's candidate, Purnima Chakraborty, is sharpening the attack with a mix of religious signalling and grassroots anger. "I am a devotee of Krishna and Shyam. I want to serve people," she says, before pivoting to civic issues — dug-up roads under Pathashree, failing drainage, dengue and malaria threats, and shuttered schools. Her pitch is blunt and accusatory: "Development has been selective around her party and family members. Benefits have been cornered, and accountability has been absent," she says.