Nine constituencies from West Bengal are going to the polls on April 30 in the seventh phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2014. These include Howrah, Hooghly, Serampore, Bolpur, Arambagh, Burdwan East, Burdwan-Durgapur, Birbhum and Uluberia.
Among the 87 contestants in the fray, the prominent ones are music director Bappi Lahiri, journalist-turned politician Chandan Mitra and actor George Baker from the BJP, the Trinamool Congress' sitting MPs Satabdi Roy, Kalyan Banerjee Sultan Ahmed and former India soccer player Prasun Banerjee, and Congress candidate Abdul Mannan, among others. There are also 13 women contestants in the elections.
The BJP's three candidates carry the hopes of the party leadership to score big for the first time in the state. While most poll analysts rule out the BJP's outright win in any of the nine seats, they all agree on an increase in the vote-share.
The Lok Sabha elections will be a battle for the CPI-M to hold on to the four seats among the nine it had won the last time.
An electorate of 13,943,063 would be eligible to exercise their franchise. The deployment of security forces for the elections on Wednesday will be double that of the 2011 Assembly polls. In addition, there will be general observers, expenditure observers, police observers and micro-observers. Arrangements have also been made for web-casting and live monitoring of sensitive areas, sources said.
Of the 17,330 polling stations, 173 will run by women, and there will be 270 model polling stations. Arambagh constituency has the highest number of polling stations: 2,053, and Uluberia the lowest with 1,788.
Howrah
The parliamentary constituency of Howrah is one of West Bengal's 42 Lok Sabha constituencies and came into being prior to the 1951 elections. According to Election Commission of India 2009 data, the total electorates in the Howrah Parliamentary constituency (constituency number 25) were 1,344,746 of which 612,728 are females and 732,018 are males. It comprises of seven legislative assembly segments, of which one is reserved for the SC category and has an electorate of 1,344,746. It is one of the 16 constituencies representing the district of Howrah, the headquarters of which lies in the city of Howrah and has a total area of 1,467 sq km.
The main candidates from Howrah constituency for 2014 are:
Shib Chandra Ram (BSP)
Prasun Banerjee (AITC)
Suraj Narayan Singh (AAP)
George Baker (BJP)
Manoj Kumar Pandey (Congress)
Sridip Bhattacharya (CPM)
As per the 2011 census data, the total population of the Howrah District is 4,841,638 with a male majority. The population growth rate of Howrah District was 13.31% from 2001 to 2011 and it has a population density of 2,913 persons per sq km. About 9% of the population is under the age of six and the sex ratio is 935 females per 1000 males. With an average literacy rate of 83.85%, which is higher than the national average, the male and female literacy rates of the district are 81% and 73% respectively.
Uluberia
One of the 42 parliamentary constituencies of West Bengal, Uluberia has 1,251,600 voters and was formed in 1951. The total number of electorates in the Uluberia Lok Sabha constituency (constituency number 26) according to Election Commission of India 2009 reports are 1,251,590 of which 660,713 are males and 590,877 are females. It has seven Vidhan Sabha segments one of which is reserved for the SC category, belonging to the Howrah District. The town of Uluberia is under the Kolkata Metropolitan area, with an average elevation of 1m situated along the River Hoogly. It is located in the south eastern region of the state.
The main candidates from Uluberia constituency for 2014 are:
Rekha Das (BSP)
Sultan Ahmed (AITC)
Ranjit Kishore Mohanty (BJP)
Asit Mitra (Congress)
Sabir Uddin Molla (CPM)
As per 2001 census data, the total population of the area is 203,000 with 52% males and 48% females. 13% of the population is under the age of six and the area has a sex ratio of 935 females per 1000 males. It has an average literacy rate of 64%, with male and female literacy rates of 70% and 58% respectively.
Serampore (Sreerampur)
West Bengal has 42 parliamentary constituencies, one of which is the Serampore Lok Sabha Constituency, formed prior to the elections of 1951 and currently has over 1,396,000 voters. The Serampore Parliamentary constituency (constituency number 27) has a total of 1,395,570 electorates out of which 660,050 are females and 735,520 are males according to Election Commission of India 2009 reports. It comprises seven Vidhan Sabha segments, five of which are in Hoogly District and the other two are in Howrah District. Serampore or Sreerampur is a town in the Hoogly District, under the Kolkata Metropolitan Area with an elevation of 17m, located on the banks of the River Hoogly.
The main candidates from Serampore constituency for 2014 are:
Kalyan Banerjee (TMC)
Bappi Lahiri (BJP)
Abdul Mannan (Congress)
Tirthankar Ray (CPM)
According to the India 2001 census reports, the town has a population of over 198,000 with 53% males and 47% females. 8% of the population is under the age of six, and the sex ratio is 958 males per 1000 males. The average literacy rate of the town is 77%, with male literacy rate at 81% and female literacy rate at 73%. Several important schools and colleges are located here, offering education in English and Bengali mediums. Tourism, agriculture and fishing are important economic activities of the people of the area.
Hooghly
The Hooghly Parliamentary Constituency is one of West Bengal's 42 Lok Sabha constituencies (constituency number 28). It came into being in 1951 and has 1,405,684 voters. Out of these 726,412 are males and the remaining 679,272 are females, as the Election commission of India 2009 reports suggest. It comprises of seven legislative assembly segments, of which two are reserved for the SC category. The headquarters of the Hooghly District lie in the city of Hooghly and it has a total area of 3,149 sq km. The district comprises four sub divisions and has an average elevation of 200m. The River Hoogly flows on the eastern border of the district. The district has enormous historical and cultural importance.
List of the main candidates of Hooghly constituency for 2014
Chandan Mitra (BJP)
Pritam Ghosh (Congress)
Ratna De (Nag) (TMC)
Pradip Saha (CPM)
As per the 2011 India census data, the total population of the district is 5,530,000 of which 2,814,653 are males and 2,704,492 are females. The population growth rate of Hooghly District was 9.46% from 2001 to 2011 and it has a population density of 1,753 persons per sq km. About 9.66% of population is under the age of six and the sex ratio is 961 females per 1000 males. With an average literacy rate of 81.80, Hoogly has male and female literacy rates of 87.03 and 76.36% respectively.
Arambagh
Formed prior to the 1967 elections, the Lok Sabha Constituency of Arambagh is one of the 42 parliamentary constituencies of West Bengal. The Arambagh Parliamentary constituency (constituency number 29) has a total of 1,375,377 electorates out of which 659,607 are females and 715,770 are males according to Election Commission of India 2009 reports. It is reserved for the SC category, has 1,375,377 voters and comprises of seven legislative assembly segments. Arambagh is a city and headquarters of the Arambagh Division which is in the Hooghly District. It is located at an elevation of 15 m and is situated in the westernmost part of the district.
List of the main candidates of Bardhaman Purba constituency for 2014
Aparupa Poddar (Afrin Ali) (TMC)
Madhusudan Bag (BJP)
Sambhunath Malik (Congress)
According to 2001 census data of India, the total population of the town is over 60,000, of which 62% are males and 38% females. 17% of the population is under the age of six and a sex ratio of about 960 females per 1000 males. The town has an average literacy rate of 82%, with male literacy at 79% and female literacy rate of 58%. Bengali, Hindi and English are the commonly used languages here. Economically, almost 60% of the people are engaged in agriculture, which mainly includes cultivation of rice and potato. Several schools are located in the area, both in English and Bengali mediums. The Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme provides financial aid to the district as it is one of India's 250 most backward districts.
Bardhaman Purba
One of the 42 parliamentary constituencies of West Bengal, Bardhaman Purba came into existence in the year 1951. 1,289,311 is the total electorate count in the Bardhaman Purba Lok Sabha Constituency (constituency number 38). Out of these 674,311 number of electorates are males and the remaining 615,000 are belong to the female category as the Election commission of India 2009 reports suggest. It is reserved for the SC category and comprises of six Vidhan Sabha segments. The constituency represents the Burdwan District which is at a height of 30 m over an area of 56 sq km and its headquarters are situated in the city of Burdwan. It is about 100 km away from the city of Kolkata. It has cultural importance and has been home to several prominent artists.
List of the main candidates of Bardhaman Purba constituency for 2014
Mukul Biswas (BSP)
Sunil Kumar Mondal (AITC)
Santosh Roy (BJP)
Chandana Majhi (Congress)
Iswar Chandra Das (CPM)
The 2011 Indian Census states that the total population of the Bardhaman Urban Agglomeration is over 347,000 with a 53% male majority and 47% of females. Over 25,000 are under the age of six and the average literacy rate is 89%. There is over an 84% Hindu majority and the city is famous for being home to Kankeleswari Kali, a Hindu Goddess. There are several schools and colleges here including a branch of the prestigious St Xavier's School. The economy is mostly agrarian and various small scale industries are also located here. It is nicknamed the 'Rice Bowl' of the state.
Bardhaman Durgapur
One of the 42 Lok Sabha constituencies of West Bengal, Bardhaman Durgapur was formed after the 2008 delimitation of parliamentary constituencies. The total number of electorates in the Bardhaman Durgapur Lok Sabha Constituency (constituency number 39) according to Election Commission of India 2009 reports are 1,353,380 of which 709,424 are males and 643,956 are females. It comprises of six Vidhan Sabha segments of which two are reserved for the SC category. The constituency represents the Burdwan District which is at an average elevation of 30 m and covers an area of 56 sq km. Its headquarters are situated in the city of Burdwan and is about 100 km away from the city of Kolkata. It has always been an important city in history and has cultural and economic importance.
List of the main candidates of Bardhaman-Durgapur constituency for 2014
Md Harun (BSP)
Mamtaz Sanghamita (TMC)
Debasree Chaudhuri (BJP)
Agasty Pradip (Congress)
Sk. Saidul Haque (CPM)
As per 2011 India census, the total population of the Urban Agglomeration of Bardhaman is over 347,000 with a 53% male majority. Over 25,000 of the population are under the age of six and the average literacy rate is 89%. The city has an 84% Hindu majority and the city is famous is home to the Hindu Goddess, Kankeleswari Kali. There are several schools and colleges located here including the prestigious St. Xaviers School. The economy is mostly agrarian and rice cultivation being the primary activity and the city is nicknamed to be the 'Rice Bowl' of the state.
Bolpur
Bolpur Lok Sabha is one of the 42 parliamentary constituencies of the West Bengal which came into existence in 1967 and has six Vidhan Sabha segments. 1,307,730 is the total electorate count in the Bolpur Lok Sabha Constituency (constituency number 41). Out of these 675,489 number of electorates are males and the remaining 632,241 are belong to the female category as the Election commission of India 2009 reports suggest. It is reserved for the SC category and has 1,307,800 voters. Bolpur belongs to the Birbhum District and lies at a distance of 145 km and has a average altitude of 58 m. It is most famous for being close to the Visva Bharati University. The municipality of Bolpur has 19 wards.
List of the main candidates of Bolpur constituency for 2014
Samiran Das (BSP)
Anupam Hazra (AITC)
Kamini Mohan Sarkar (BJP)
Tapan Kumar Saha (Congress)
Dome Ramchandra (CPM)
As per the 2011 India census data, the total population of the district of Birbhum stands at over 3,500,000 making it the 84th most populated district of the country. It has a population density of 771 people per sq km and over 2001-2011; the district has had a population growth rate of about 17%. The sex ratio of the area is 956 females per 1000 males and about 11% of the population is under the age of six. The average literacy rate is 70%. Hindus have a 65% majority followed by 33% Muslims. About 30% of the population belongs to the SC category and about 7% belongs to the ST category.
Birbhum
One of the 42 parliamentary constituencies of the state of West Bengal, Birbhum city belongs to the Birbhum District. The Birbhum Lok Sabha Constituency (constituency number 42) consists of 1,221,893 number of electorates in totality, of these 636,373 are males and 585,520 are females as the Election commission of India 2009 data suggests. This Lok Sabha Constituency was formed prior to the 1951 elections and comprises of seven assembly segments of which 2 are reserved for SC. Prior to 2009 elections, this seat was reserved for the SC category only. Birbhum is an administrative unit of West Bengal with its headquarters located in Suri and Birbhum. It is located on the eastern side of the state of Jharkhand. The district is often referred to as the land of red soil and is 190 km away from Kolkata. It stands at an average elevation of 56 m and covers an area of over 4,500 sq km.
List of the main candidates of Birbhum constituency for 2014
Prabir Mukhopadhyay (BSP)
Satabdi Roy (AITC)
Joy Banerjee (BJP)
Syed Siraj Jimmi (Congress)
Dr. Elahi Kamre Mahammad (CP-M)
Prasanta Roy (SP)
Birbhum has a population of over 3,502,000 of which around 22% lives in urban areas. About 52% of the population is male and the sex ratio is around 956 females for every 1000 males. The average literacy rate is around 70%. Birbhum is the home of world renowned Visva Bharati University, Shantiniketan which was established by Rabindranath Tagore. It is recognized for its cottage and textile industries. Birbhum is well connected to cities around the state by trains and the Panagarh-Morgram Highway runs through the area which connects it to NH-2 at Panagarh and with NH-34 at Morgram.
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