Kolkata, March 14 (IANS). Uluberia Lok Sabha constituency is an important parliamentary constituency in Howrah district of West Bengal, known for its rich political history, cultural heritage and economic activities.
Uluberia parliamentary constituency was established in 1952 and consists of a total of 7 assembly seats, which include Uluberia East, Uluberia North (SC), Uluberia South, Shyampur, Bagnan, Amta and Udaynarayanpur. According to the 2011 census, the population here is about 20.52 lakh, of which 69.55 percent is urban and 30.45 percent is rural. At the same time, the Scheduled Caste population is 19.63 percent, while the Scheduled Tribe population is very less (0.15 percent). There were about 15.41 lakh voters here in the voter list of 2017. The main language here is Bengali, English and Urdu are also spoken.
Howrah district is the twin city of Kolkata, and Uluberia is its gateway. The history of the area dates back 500 years, dating back to the ancient ‘Bhurshut’ kingdom. In 1578, the Venetian traveler Cesare Federici mentioned ‘Bator’, which is today’s Bator area. During the British period, the East India Company established villages here. Uluberia-II block (72.21 km²) is semi-urban, with jute mills and small industries, with 30 percent of the population dependent on agriculture. There are 8 gram panchayats, Baniban, Basudevpur and Joragori etc. The literacy rate here in 2011 was 78.05 percent.
A special identity of Uluberia is its musical instrument cluster, which is spread across Dhulasimla, Rangmahal, Maikhali and Dadpur villages. This cluster, which started after independence, is today one of the largest in the country. Musical instruments like sitar, sarod, guitar, tanpura are made here, which are in demand in the country and abroad due to their melodious sound and quality. This craftsmanship, which has been going on for generations, is the cultural heritage of the area.
Talking about political history, this area was initially a stronghold of Congress, but in 1957 the Forward Bloc won here. The Communist Party (CPM) held a strong position in the 1960s–70s and leaders like Hannan Mollah were consecutive MPs from 1980 to 2004. In 2009, Trinamool Congress (TMC) turned the tables and Sultan Ahmed defeated CPM. After the death of Sultan Ahmed in 2017, his wife Sajda Ahmed won the by-election.
In 2019, Sajda Ahmed won by 6,94,945 votes, while BJP’s Joy Banerjee came second. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections also, Sajda Ahmed (TMC) won a landslide victory, getting 7,24,622 votes (52.10 percent), BJP’s Arunoday Paul Choudhury got 5,05,949 votes (36.38 percent) and Congress’s Azhar Mallik got 78,589 votes. TMC remains in a strong position here.
At present (2026), preparations for the assembly elections are in full swing in the area. TMC has a history of consistent victories in seats like Uluberia East, North and South, but BJP is posing a challenge. In recent news, some controversial incidents took place in Uluberia block during the SIR (Special Intensive Revision) hearing. There is also tension between political parties over allegations of misuse of central agencies, with the TMC even leading statewide protests.
–IANS
SCH/ABM
