Jamalpur assembly polls 2026: Arun Halder of BJP wins against Bhutnath Malik TMC

Arun Halder of the Bharatiya Janata Party won the Jamalpur (SC) Assembly Constituency No. 263, defeating Bhutnath Malik of the All India Trinamool Congress.Jamalpur (SC), Assembly Constituency No. 263, is located in Purba Bardhaman district in South Bengal, southwest of Bardhaman town, and covers the Jamalpur community development block. In the 2026 Assembly elections, the other key candidate was Rajib Saha of the Indian National Congress.The constituency lies in the Damodar-Ajoy interfluve alluvial zone, with a predominantly rural SC community of 229,000+ electors engaged in paddy and potato cultivation.The area is also known for proximity to small-scale industries including textiles and agro-processing along the Bardhaman-Bankura corridor. Key voter concerns include agricultural wages, irrigation, housing welfare schemes, youth employment, connectivity, and healthcare. Potato cold-storage infrastructure and procurement pricing are constituency-specific concerns given the cash crop's importance in this zone. Historically a Left Front-CPI(M) reserved seat transitioning to TMC after 2011.Bipolar TMC-BJP contest with high turnout (88.9per cent) under Bardhaman-Purba Lok Sabha. In 2021, TMC's Alok Kumar Majhi won by 17,971 votes (~8.8per cent of 203,825 total votes), a comfortable margin reflecting TMC's hold over rural SC communities. A comfortably marginal TMC seat; the stable margin reflects effective welfare scheme delivery. Jamalpur anchors TMC's rural SC bloc in western Purba Bardhaman, contributing to the party's ability to sustain district-level leads against BJP competition.