In the West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026, Mamoni Bauri of the Bharatiya Janata Party registered a decisive victory in Raghunathpur (Assembly Constituency 246), defeating TMC candidate Hazari Bauri by a margin of 44,059 votes.Mamoni Bauri secured 1,27,628 votes after all 16 rounds of counting, while Hazari Bouri polled 83,569 votes.Raghunathpur (SC), Assembly Constituency No. 246, is located in Puruliya district of South Bengal, within the Raghunathpur sub-division abutting the Jharkhand border and the upper Damodar river valley. Covering Raghunathpur I and II blocks and Raghunathpur municipality, the constituency has over 248,000 electors from SC-dominant communities alongside OBC and tribal populations. The region has a mixed industrial-agrarian character linked to small-scale mining, stone quarrying, and coal-belt proximity on its northern flank.Key issues include employment in the declining local quarrying sector, healthcare, electricity, municipal governance quality in Raghunathpur town, drinking water, and land and environmental concerns from mining. Women’s safety and caste-based discrimination remain undercurrent concerns. Once a CPI(M) stronghold, shifting toward BJP post-2016 in line with Purulia district’s broader political movement. High turnout (85.1per cent) with bipolar TMC-BJP character under Purulia Lok Sabha.In 2021, BJP’s Vivekananda Bauri defeated TMC by 5,438 votes (~2.6per cent margin from 211,133 total votes)—a slim but clear victory. A marginal BJP seat; the narrow margin makes Raghunathpur highly competitive for 2026. Represents BJP’s attempt to consolidate SC communities in Purulia against TMC’s welfare-scheme appeal; critical in the broader Purulia Lok Sabha calculus.
