BJP faces turf test in citadel

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Analysts attribute BJP’s influence in North Bengal to its support for ethnic groups such as the Gorkhas (influential in Darjeeling and the foothills), Koch-Rajbongshis (Cooch Behar, Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri) and Kamptapuris (areas bordering Assam). Since 2009, the BJP has been winning the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat with the support of the Gorkhas.In Alipurduar, the TMC gained some ground since the 2019 Lok Sabha election. The party’s Rajya Sabha MP Prakash Chik Baraik enjoys good rapport with a section of the tribal population.Key issuesBJP has an edge over TMC in these constituencies due to its tacit support to the local demand for a separate Union Territory for this area. Both parties lock horns over issues such as the Citizenship Amendment Act, implementation and funding of welfare projects, and the socio-economic development of the Rajbongshi community, one of the major ethnic groups of North BengalJalpaiguri: Unreserved rural constituency with a literacy rate of 74%. In 2014, there were 1,531,469 voters of which 7,95,704 were male and 7,35,760 female and five of the third gender. Jalpaiguri has an estimated SC population of 49.46% and a Scheduled Tribe population of 7.68% Cooch behar: Reserved seat has approximately 1,21,879 SC voters, which are around 45% as per the 2011 census. It houses ethnic group such as Koch-Rajbongshis, an electoraly key communityAlipurduar: A general category seat has SC votes of around 1,06,699 or 43%, according to the 2011 Census. ST voters are around 29,290, which is around 12%. Urban voters in Alipurduar are around 1,01,917 which is around 41% as per 2011 census. The TMC dominates the area since 2019 elections

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