Waterlogging, waste management, potable water problems plague Kasba
The Statesman | 28 April 2026
The ruling party has locked horns with the BJP in the upcoming polls in Kasba constituency.
In the last Assembly elections in 2021, a total of 1,21,372 votes were cast in favour of Trinamul Congress candidate Javed Ahmed Khan while the BJP candidate Dr Indranil Khan had bagged 57,750 votes. Of the total votes cast, 54.39 per cent went in favour of the TMC while 25.88 per cent votes were cast for BJP. The TMC’s Javed Khan had swept the polls with a winning margin of 63,622.
In the 2026 Assembly polls that had thrown SIR as the major challenge before the ruling party, Kasba witnessed 58,025 exclusions in draft SIR roll apart from the deletions of names under adjudication.
The constituency, which has been dominated by the ruling party since 2011, includes ward numbers 66, 67, 91, 92, 107 and 108 of Kolkata Municipal Corporation having a considerable percentage of voters from the minority community as well as a shrinking count of the Chinese along with others. The constituency bears a contrasting picture dotted with upscale urban dwellings along with pockets of slums. A large number of lower middle class alongside affluent households, coupled with a considerable number of unskilled labourers or even unemployed youth in parts of Tiljala, Tangra, Panchanna Gram and so on, form a crucial part of the electorate here.
On the other side, China Town in Tangra accommodates several premier destinations for the best Chinese cuisine in the city. However, despite very fast urbanisation on one side, the seat is plagued with issues of drainage, drinking water and waste management. Pockets of Tiljala and Tangra often come under water during the rainy season. “Monsoons are a pain for us. While the drainage system needs to be upgraded, waste thrown randomly adds to our woes, said Sultana Begum, a voter of Kasba constituency. Adding to Sultana, Munna, another local resident, claimed: “Illegal constructions and violent clashes among gangs and syndicates are also haunting us. The place, which otherwise runs normally, suddenly turns into a battlefield with bombs and gunshots. Before anything else, this gang war needs to be controlled.”
Notably, for the upcoming polls, the ruling party continues to rely on its sitting MLA, Javed Ahmed Khan. The ruling party candidate is confident of a clear win. The BJP has fielded Sandeep Banerjee while the Left has declared an old party veteran Dipu Das as its candidate for the Assembly elections. The BJP candidate has set potable water supply to pockets faced with issues of sufficient drinking water supply as his main goal after winning the polls. Confident of his win, improving drainage and preventing waterlogging are also on his list of priorities.