Khejuri (SC) assembly election results 2026: BJP's Subrata Paik defeats TMC candidate Rabin Mandal by 32,690 votes

BJP's Subrata Paik defeated Trinamool candidate Rabin Chandra Mandal by 32,690 votes to retain Khejuri assembly seat for the saffron party.The Election Commission's website showed that Paik and Mandal polled 129,875 and 97,185 votes, respectively.BJP's Santanu Pramanik was the previous MLA for Khejuri, a Scheduled Caste (SC) assembly constituency in Purba Medinipur district. In the 2021 election, Pramanik won with 110,407 votes (51.93% share), defeating Trinamool's Partha Pratim Das (92,442 votes) by a margin of 17,965 votes at 89.1% turnout. In this constituency, coastal erosion and frequent cyclones threaten livelihoods in fishing and agriculture, with salinity ingress affecting paddy fields. Unemployment fuels migration, while poor connectivity and embankment breaches worsen flooding. Environmental concerns from illegal sand mining persist. BJP flipped it from AITC's Ranajit Mondal (2011-16 wins); earlier held by WBSP/CPM. The economy centres on aquaculture, salt production, and betel leaf.