In the heart of West Bengal’s East Midnapore district, the rural enclave of Chandipur has emerged as a riveting battleground in state politics. This assembly constituency, part of the Kanthi Lok Sabha seat, boasts a superstar legislator in Soham Chakraborty, the celebrated Bengali film and TV actor whose star power has kept rivals at bay.
Nestled in the flood-prone Gangetic plains near the Bay of Bengal, Chandipur’s landscape is defined by a web of rivers like Haldi, Rupnarayan, Rasulpur, Keleghai, and Bagui. These waterways irrigate lush farmlands yielding rice, potatoes, oilseeds, pulses, vegetables, and the region’s famed betel leaves, while sustaining a thriving fish farming industry. Yet, annual floods bring devastation, underscoring the area’s vulnerability.
Despite electrification and access to drinking water in most villages, infrastructure lags severely. Paved roads are scarce, public transport is limited, and banking services remain elusive. The district headquarters at Tamluk lies 25-27 km away, serving as the nearest rail hub connected to Kolkata via the Howrah-Kharagpur line. Daily commutes to nearby towns like Bhagwanpur, Haldia, Egra, and Kanthi remain arduous for locals.
Created in 2011, Chandipur quickly became a Trinamool Congress (TMC) stronghold. Party veteran Amiya Kanti Bhattacharya crushed CPI(M)’s Bidhu Guha by 11,709 votes that year and defended it in 2016 against Mangal Chand Pradhan by 9,654 votes. But winds shifted by 2021 as BJP surged, displacing the Left from contention—from 2.98% votes in 2011 and 5.14% in 2016 to a formidable challenge.
TMC countered brilliantly, replacing Bhattacharya with Chakraborty’s mass appeal. The actor trounced BJP’s Gajakanta Guriya by 13,472 votes, while CPI(M)’s share plummeted to 4.47%. The drama intensified in Lok Sabha polls: TMC’s 2014 lead of 25,540 votes over CPI(M) shrank to 15,463 in 2019 against BJP, and shockingly flipped to an 842-vote BJP edge in 2024—a psychological blow signaling vulnerability.
With voter turnout consistently high—91.77% in 2011 and 86.20% in 2024—and no single caste or community dominating, Chandipur’s electorate is discerning. As 2026 assembly elections loom, the question hangs: Can Chakraborty’s celebrity magic hold the fort, or will BJP convert its symbolic 2024 lead into outright victory? The battle lines are drawn in this political thriller.