How a shift in West Bengal’s Raiganj since 2016 reflects political change in the state

Almost one-third of the traditional Congress voters have shifted with the passage of time in Bengal's Raiganj.

A series of five consecutive electoral wins beginning 1996 and the last one with an emphatic vote share of 59 per cent in 2016. That’s how dominant the Congress has been in West Bengal’s Raiganj assembly constituency all these years. In fact, of the 16 assembly elections in the state so far, the Congress has won this seat 11 times. And in all the elections since 1996, the party’s vote share has been going up -- from little under 40 per cent to 59 per cent 20 years later. Raiganj, which votes on April 17, has been one of the few constituencies where the Congress stood its ground in most of the elections during the 34-year uninterrupted rule of the Left Front. Even its split in the late 1990s, following the formation of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), had no impact on the Congress’ fortunes in the constituency.