Gopiballavpur assembly election results 2026: BJP's Rajesh Mahata wins TMC-held seat by 26,675 votes

NEW DELHI: In Gopiballavpur assembly constituency, BJP's Rajesh Mahata defeated Ajit Mahata of Trinamool Congress to win a seat held by the Mamata Banerjee-led party since 2011.According to the Election Commission, Rajesh Mahata (114,683) polled 26,675 more votes than Ajit Mahata (88,008).Earlier, Gopiballavpur in Jhargram district was represented by Khagendra Nath Mahata of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. In the 2021 election, he secured 1,04,115 votes (about 52%), defeating BJP’s Sanjit Mahato, who polled 80,347 votes (around 40%), giving him a comfortable winning margin of 23,768 votes. Key issues reflect its forest‑fringe, Adivasi‑dominated profile: livelihood security from small farming and forest produce, improvement of rural roads linking gram panchayats like Beliabera, Tapshia and Sankrail to Jhargram and Medinipur, and access to reliable irrigation. Demand for more government health centres, residential facilities for tribal students, and timely delivery of welfare schemes (land titles, housing, food security) remains strong. The constituency lies in the heart of the former Junglemahal zone, and earlier saw CPI(M) dominance before shifting decisively to TMC from 2011 onwards under leaders like Churamani Mahata and now Khagendra Nath Mahata. Gopiballavpur falls under the Jhargram Lok Sabha seat, represented by TMC MP Kalipada Soren, who won the 2024 general election by 1,74,048 votes, aligning Assembly and parliamentary representation in this sensitive border‑forest belt.