Haldia (SC) assembly election results 2026: BJP's Pradip Kumar Bijali defeats sitting Trinamool MLA Tapasi Mondal

NEW DELHI: The BJP clinched West Bengal's Haldia (SC) constituency as its candidate Pradip Kumar Bijali defeated sitting Trinamool legislator Tapasi Mondal.According to the Election Commission, Bijali (132,183 votes) defeated Mondal (83,121) by 49,062 votesMondal won the 2021 election with 104,126 votes (47.15% vote share) as BJP candidate, defeating Trinamool's Swapan Naskar (89,118 votes, 40.36%) by a margin of 15,008 votes. Key issues included urban infrastructure pressure from Haldia industrial township growth, drainage and flood control in low-lying Sutahata CDB areas, and drinking water supply for 22.6% SC population. Demand for health facilities, schools, local employment beyond petrochemical plants, and welfare scheme delivery for scheduled castes remains central amid 87.66per cent literacy and rapid urbanisation. Mondal's journey—from CPI(M) 2016 win (margin 21,493 votes), BJP 2021 victory, to TMC switch—marked a dramatic volatility in this industrial-reserved seat previously held by TMC's Seuli Saha (2011). Haldia falls under Tamluk Lok Sabha constituency, won by BJP's Abhijit Gangopadhyay (2024), creating an Assembly-LS party split.