New Delhi, February 10 (). Moyna assembly constituency is an important rural seat located in the East Medinipur district of West Bengal, which has been witness to changing political equations. Moyna, one of the seven assembly constituencies of Tamluk Lok Sabha seat, belongs to the general category, comprising five gram panchayats of Tamluk block along with Moyna Community Development Block.
Established in 1951, the seat has contested all 17 assembly elections in West Bengal. Moyna was dominated by left parties in the early decades, with CPI(M) winning six times and CPI winning five times. At the same time, Congress got three victories. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) won here for the first time in 2011, when Bhushan Chandra Dolai defeated CPI(M)’s Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by 9,957 votes. In 2016, Dolai retained the seat by defeating Manik Bhowmik of Congress by 12,124 votes.
But there was a big reversal in 2021. BJP candidate Ashok Dinda, a former Indian cricketer, won the seat by defeating TMC’s Sangram Kumar Dolui by just 1,260 votes. BJP got only 2.59 percent votes in 2011 and 3.24 percent votes in 2016, but in 2021 the party gained a strong hold here.
Moyna’s trends at the Lok Sabha level are also interesting. In Tamluk Lok Sabha, TMC was ahead of CPI(M) by 16,912 votes in 2009 and by 39,803 votes in 2014. BJP’s vote share was 1.53 percent in 2009 and 4.64 percent in 2014, which reached 42.70 percent in 2019. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, BJP has a lead of 9,948 votes over TMC, which shows the growing strength of BJP in the region.
Moyna had a total of 2,68,091 voters in 2024, a significant increase from 1,96,999 in 2011. If we talk about the voting percentage of the assembly seat, it always remains high. The seat recorded 90.67 percent voting in 2011, 87.40 percent in 2016 and 88.09 percent in 2021. It was slightly less in the Lok Sabha. Which was recorded at 85.16 percent in 2019 and 84.04 percent in 2024.
Demographically, Scheduled Castes are the largest group (22.15 percent), followed by Muslims (11.10 percent). This seat is predominantly rural, with about 95 percent of voters in villages and only about 5 percent in urban areas.
The history of Moyna is linked to the Moyangad Fort, which was located near the ancient Tamralipta port. This fort was surrounded by circular ditch, mounds and dense forests, which made it difficult for the enemies to attack. Local traditions link it with the Dharmamangal kings of Lausanne and the 16th-century Bahubalindra royal family, who established a capital here and fended off attacks from the Bengal Sultans. The remains of the fort, temples, dargahs and moats still remind of Moyna’s glorious past.
Geographically Moyna is in the upper Ganga-Jamuna plain and eastern coastal delta, where the Haldi, Roopnarayan, Rasulpur, Bagui and Keleghai rivers flow. Paddy is the main crop grown on fertile lands, along with pulses, oilseeds and vegetables. Tidal floods and cyclones are common, but embankments and canals help. Fishing is a strong part of the economy here, which provides employment to thousands.
By road and rail Moyna is connected to Tamluk (17 km east), Kolaghat (19 km north). Kolkata is about 90-96 km away. Panskura is at a distance of 13 km, Haldia is 46 km and Kharagpur is 51 km.
The seat now sees a direct fight between BJP (strong in 2021 Assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha) and TMC. TMC will try to win back the seat, while BJP will want to maintain its lead.
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SCH/DSC
