New Delhi, February 18 (IANS). Dinhata assembly constituency is an important constituency located in Cooch Behar district of West Bengal. It is a municipal town and also the headquarters of Dinhata subdivision. Situated on flat alluvial plains in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas near the India-Bangladesh border, this area is of normal category. It consists of the entire Dinhata Municipality, Dinhata II Block and four gram panchayats of Dinhata I Block. It is one of the seven parts of Cooch Behar Lok Sabha constituency.
Dinhata has existed as a constituency since 1951, and has held 18 assembly elections so far, including the 2021 by-election. Historically, the All India Forward Bloc (part of the Left Front) has won here eight times. Congress has won five times and Trinamool Congress three times, while the breakaway Forward Bloc (Socialist) and BJP have won once each.
In 2011, Udayan Guha of Forward Bloc defeated independent Mohammad Imdadul Haq, but the seat went to NCP in adjustment. Guha rebelled and later joined Trinamool. In 2016, he defeated Akshay Thakur of Forward Bloc by 21,793 votes.
The 2021 elections were very exciting. BJP’s Union Minister Nishith Pramanik defeated Trinamool’s Udayan Guha by just 53 votes, but Pramanik quit as MLA to save the Lok Sabha seat. This spread resentment among local voters. Guha won the by-election on a Trinamool ticket by a huge margin (about 1,64,000 votes) with the BJP trailing far behind.
Change was visible at the Lok Sabha level also. In 2009, Forward Bloc defeated Trinamool, in 2014 Trinamool was ahead, in 2019 BJP took the lead and in 2024 Trinamool again won over BJP by 18,014 votes.
There were 3,07,585 voters in 2024, which was 2,99,251 in 2021, 2,87,966 in 2019 and 2,73,294 in 2016. Although it is a general seat, the number of Scheduled Caste and Muslim voters is high. At the same time, the voting percentage remained high. The area recorded 82.95 percent voting in 2011, 81.88 percent in 2016, 81.54 percent in 2021 and 77.40 percent in 2024.
Geographically Dinhata is in the influence zone of Teesta, Torsha and Jaldhaka rivers. These Himalayan rivers flow south-east from Cooch Behar and meet the Brahmaputra in Bangladesh. The low-lying area is flood-prone, but the fertile soil is suitable for the cultivation of paddy, jute and vegetables. Irrigation is done through tube wells and small canals. Dinhata is a center for local markets, rice mills, agro-processing, trade and government services.
It is 28 km from Cooch Behar city, 54 km from New Alipurduar, 130 km from Jalpaiguri and about 700 km from Kolkata. Bangladesh border is at 20-25 km and Lalmonirhat is about 26 km from Dinhata, the district headquarters. Dinajpur of Bangladesh is at a distance of about 100 kilometers. Since 2009, the electoral contest has been triangular, with Trinamool leading thrice and BJP and Forward Bloc leading twice each. The Left-Congress alliance became weak. Pramanik’s resignation in 2021 caused losses to the BJP, the impact of which was visible in the 2021 by-elections and 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
In 2021, BJP suffered losses due to Pramanik’s resignation, the effect of which was seen in the by-elections and Lok Sabha. Development, flood control, agriculture, and border issues will remain prominent in the region.
–IANS
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