Kolkata keeps watch as neighbours go to polls

As the name suggests, this constituency is named after the British cantonment area (barracks) with a sprawling settlement of Bengali babus, who shifted from rural Bengal to settle along the

Hooghly

. The constituency is dotted with a host of closed mills — Naihati, Gouripore, Loomtex Cotton — which had once attracted labourers from Bihar, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh. Recently, their premises have made way to high-rises, bringing about a change in the demography.


An erstwhile stronghold of the Left, Barrackpore went with Trinamool’s Dinesh Trivedi in 2009. Trivedi’s profile suited the constituency’s cosmopolitan character. Trinamool turncoat Arjun Singh is the BJP candidate this time. Strongman Singh has considerable might in Bhatpara, while his relative Sunil Singh is the Garulia Muncipality chairman and the Trinamool MLA from Noapara. Sunil’s son has joined BJP. Two-time Naihati MLA Partha Bhowmick is protecting the Trinamool bastion in Naihati, while CPM has a strong presence in Amdanga.


The Bijpur assembly segment has left both the Trinamool and BJP in a bind. Trinamool candidate Dinesh Trivedi has roped in Bijpur MLA Subhrangshu Roy for his campaigns, while the latter’s father Mukul Roy wants Trinamool’s defeat in Barrackpore.

BJP’s graph in this constituency is on the rise. The party polled 21.92% votes, upping its share by 18.36% in 2014

Lok Sabha polls

, while Trinamool and Left recorded a loss in vote share. The party came up as the second force in the Noapara assembly bypolls. Trinamool’s prospects in this constituency depend on how far the party can protect its Hindispeaking support base against BJP’s aggressive campaign. Dinesh Trivedi can only hope the Left would keep its vote share intact.