Sonamukhi assembly polls 2026: Dibakar Gharami of BJP wins against Kallol Saha from TMC

Dibakar Gharami of the Bharatiya Janata Party won the Sonamukhi (SC) Assembly Constituency No. 259, defeating Kallol Saha of the All India Trinamool Congress.Sonamukhi (SC) Assembly Constituency No. 259 is located in southern Bankura district of South Bengal, near the Bishnupur–Bankura–Bardhaman trijunction. The key candidates in the fray also included Ajit Ray of CPI(M) and Rahul Bauri of the Indian National Congress.Covering Sonamukhi community development block and Sonamukhi town, the constituency includes a small urban centre with an SC-reserved character and a largely agricultural rural hinterland. With over 224,000 electors, the majority are SC communities (Bagdi, Bauri, Rajbanshi) along with OBC groups, engaged in paddy farming, cottage industries, and trade.Sonamukhi town is known for its hand-woven textiles and pottery. Key voter issues include weaver and artisan livelihood protection, agricultural support, irrigation, healthcare, urban-rural road connectivity, and welfare scheme access. The textile artisan economy's decline adds a distinctive livelihoods dimension to voter mobilization. Transitioning from a Left Front-CPI(M) stronghold, Sonamukhi moved toward BJP by 2021 as part of the broader Bankura district BJP sweep.High turnout (91.7per cent) under Bishnupur Lok Sabha. In 2021, BJP's Dibakar Gharami won by 10,888 votes (~5.3per cent of 205,663 total votes), a comfortable margin. A moderate BJP hold; loom-related livelihood concerns give TMC a potential re-entry point. Sonamukhi rounds out BJP's southern Bankura cluster as a moderately safe base in the Bishnupur Lok Sabha zone.