In the heart of Kolkata, Jorasanko isn’t just Tagore’s birthplace – it’s a political battleground where history meets high-stakes voting. The name derives from ‘joda’ (pair) and ‘sanko’ (bridge), recalling bamboo spans over a stream. Beyond its poetic past with icons like Kali Prasanna Singh, this assembly segment has rewritten Bengal’s electoral map.
Post-1947, Congress ruled unchallenged for over four decades, winning every poll until 1996. Mamata’s 1998 TMC launch disrupted that. By 2001, Jorasanko embraced the new force, delivering TMC victories through 2021. Vivek Gupta’s 2021 triumph over BJP’s Meena Devi Purohit continued the streak, though close calls like 778-vote 2001 and 819-vote 2006 margins underscore fierce competition.
What sets Jorasanko apart is its split-ticket voting. TMC owns assembly seats on governance records, but BJP surges in Lok Sabha races. Data shows BJP’s dominance: 16,482-vote lead in 2014, down to 3,882 in 2019, rebounding to 7,401 in 2024. Part of Kolkata North – a TMC LS bastion – the segment reveals class divides: traders favor BJP’s economic pitch nationally, TMC locally.
Demographically diverse, it covers 11 wards with Marwari dominance in trade hubs like Badabazar. Rabindra Sarani buzzes with commerce, blending old Bengalis, Hindi speakers, and migrants in urban density.
As assembly elections loom, BJP eyes a breakthrough, leveraging LS gains. Will Jorasanko’s voters stick to local loyalty or embrace change? This microcosm of Bengal politics holds clues to statewide trends.