Howrah, March 12 (IANS). Howrah Lok Sabha seat is one of the important parliamentary seats of West Bengal. It covers most of the urban areas of Howrah district and is part of the Kolkata metropolitan area. Howrah Lok Sabha constituency has a total of 7 assembly constituencies including 169-Balli, 170-Howrah North, 171-Howrah Central, 172-Shibpur, 173-Howrah South, 174-Sankrail and 175-Panchla. All these areas are concentrated in the industrial-urban areas in and around Howrah city.
Howrah has been counted among the major districts of West Bengal, whose total area is 1,467 square kilometers. The district has a population of 48,50,029 as of 2011 census, making it one of the most densely populated districts in the state. The literacy rate is 83.31 percent, which is above the state average. The district has 14 development blocks, 157 villages, one municipal corporation (Howrah Municipal Corporation) and 26 police stations. Howrah district is highly urbanized and is the second smallest district after Kolkata.
Howrah city is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River and is called the twin city of Kolkata. It falls under the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) area. Howrah is an important transport hub and gateway to Kolkata and the whole of West Bengal. Here is India’s oldest and busiest railway station, Howrah Station, which is ranked among the largest railway junctions in the country. The city has a heritage dating back thousands of years, dating back to the ancient Bengali kingdom of Bhurshut.
If we talk about the history of the district, it is more than 500 years old. The Venetian traveler Cesare Federici mentioned a place called ‘Buttore’ in his diary in 1578, which was a port for large ships. It is believed to be connected to today’s Bator area. Bator is also mentioned in Bipradas Pipilai’s Bengali poem ‘Manasmangal’ of 1495. In 1713, the British East India Company sought permission from the Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar to settle five villages (Salika, Harira, Kasundeh, Ramakrishnapur and Battar) on the western bank of the Hooghly River. These villages form major parts of Howrah city today.
Howrah Lok Sabha seat is being dominated by Trinamool Congress (TMC) in 2024. TMC’s Prasun Banerjee won the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by securing 6,26,493 votes. BJP’s Dr. Rathin Chakraborty got 4,57,051 votes, while CPI(M)’s Sabyasachi Chatterjee got 1,52,005 votes.
Prasun Banerjee had also won the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He secured 5,76,711 votes defeating BJP’s Rantidev Sengupta (4,73,016 votes). CPI(M)’s Sumitro Adhikari got 1,05,547 votes, while Congress’s Suvra Ghosh got 32,107 votes.
Whereas, in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Prasun Banerjee defeated CPM’s Srideep Bhattacharya (2,91,505 votes) by securing 4,88,461 votes. At that time TMC got 43.4 percent votes, CPM got 25.9 percent votes and BJP got 22.05 percent votes. Congress was reduced to only 5.62 percent.
Howrah seat is of industrial importance. Jute mills, engineering industries, ports and railway facilities are prominent here. But problems like pollution, traffic and unemployment also remain. Politically, it has been a stronghold of TMC, where Mamata Banerjee’s party has a strong hold.
–IANS
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