Kashipur election results 2026: BJP’s Kamala Kanta Hansda defeats TMC’s Soumen Beltharia

In the West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026, Kamala Kanta Hansda of the Bharatiya Janata Party registered a comfortable win in Kashipur (Assembly Constituency 244), defeating Trinamool Congress candidate Soumen Beltharia by a margin of 21,276 votes.Hansda secured 1,06,571 votes after all 16 rounds of counting, while Beltharia polled 85,295 votes.Kashipur (GEN), Assembly Constituency No. 244, lies in Puruliya district of South Bengal, within the Raghunathpur sub-division close to the Jharkhand border. Covering Kashipur community development block and adjacent areas, the constituency features laterite-red soil terrain with scattered forests and rainfed agricultural land. The 227,000+ electors include significant Santhal and Munda tribal communities alongside OBC Kurmi-Mahato groups and SC communities, with a subsistence agricultural base supplemented by wage labour and outmigration.Voter priorities include forest land rights, tribal welfare scheme delivery, MGNREGA work availability, healthcare infrastructure, drinking water access, and connectivity roads. The tribal character creates Jangalmahal political dynamics: once Left-leaning, now firmly in BJP-TMC bipolar contest. Turnout at 84.5per cent under Purulia Lok Sabha. In 2021, BJP's Kamalakanta Hansda defeated TMC by 7,387 votes (~3.8per cent of 192,491 total votes), a moderate margin. The winner's tribal identity was significant in consolidating BJP's tribal voter base in Purulia's western segment. A marginal-to-moderate BJP seat; strategically located at the Jharkhand border, it is sensitive to cross-border political currents and BJP's tribal outreach narrative within the Purulia Lok Sabha zone.