KOLKATA: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on December 31, 2025, set an ambitious target for the West Bengal BJP unit, asking it to win at least 20 out of 28 Assembly seats under four Lok Sabha constituencies—Dum Dum, Kolkata North, Kolkata South and Jadavpur—in elections scheduled in two phases on April 23 and 29. The BJP has not won a single Assembly seat in these constituencies in the last two Assembly polls since 2016.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP managed marginal leads in only two Assembly segments—Jorashanko and Shyampukur—both under Kolkata North—while trailing the ruling Trinamool Congress in the remaining 26 seats.
However, following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the deletion of around 91 lakh voters, including more than 63 lakh marked as absent, shifted, dead or duplicate (ASDD) and 27 lakh listed as “under adjudication,” has altered the electoral landscape, improving the BJP’s prospects in some seats under Kolkata North and Kolkata South.
The scale of deletions in several Kolkata Assembly segments has already surpassed the lead margins secured by the Trinamool Congress in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, suggesting a potential shift in political equations and making contests tighter in seats the party had earlier won comfortably.
The Supreme Court has said that voters who are cleared by tribunals by April 21 for the first phase and April 27 for the second phase will be allowed to vote, which could still influence the final numbers if they are substantial.
Kolkata North comprises seven Assembly segments (Chowringhee, Entally, Beliaghata, Jorashanko, Shyampukur, Maniktala and Cossipore-Belgachia). The constituency recorded deletions of 4,47,541 voters, reducing the electorate from 15,06,339 to 10,58,798, a decline of about 30%, the highest in the state.
Kolkata South, which also comprises seven Assembly segments (Kasba, Behala Purba, Behala Paschim, Kolkata Port, Bhabanipur, Rashbehari, Ballygunge) followed with a 27.5 percent reduction, the second highest. Data from the Election Commission of India show that 6,29,428 ASDD voters were removed from the Kolkata North and South Lok Sabha constituencies.
The BJP believes the SIR process will help consolidate Hindu voters in its favour and weaken the Trinamool minority vote base. Observers say the deletions have made many seats more competitive, raising concerns within the TMC.
A key contest is expected in Bhabanipur, where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is set to face BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari. Banerjee had won the 2021 by-poll from Bhabanipur by a margin of over 58,000 votes, but the reported deletion of around 50,000 voters in the Hindu-dominated constituency is expected to make the contest tougher. Bhabanipur has about 20% minority voters.
In response, Banerjee has held several organisational meetings with senior party leaders, including Subrata Bakshi, Firhad Hakim and Debashish Kumar, to review the situation and strategise for the upcoming polls.
Meanwhile, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Monday asserted that the poll panel would “leave no stone unturned” to ensure free elections in the state. Kumar told officials that the EC is committed to conducting elections that are “fear-free, violence-free, intimidation-free and inducement-free”.