In the West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026, Labsen Baskey of the Bharatiya Janata Party secured. victory in Bandwan (Assembly Constituency 238), defeating Trinamool Congress candidate Rajib Lochan Saren by a margin of 29,577 votes.Baskey polled 1,34,080 votes after all 20 rounds of counting, while Saren secured 1,04,503 votes.Bandwan (ST), Assembly Constituency No. 238, is located in Puruliya district in South Bengal, in the far southwest of the state bordering Jharkhand. Part of the Jangalmahal fringe, it covers the Bandwan community development block within Bandwan sub-division, characterized by rocky laterite uplands, minor rivers, and dense sal forests.The over 272,000 electors are predominantly Scheduled Tribe (Santhal, Bhumij, Munda) communities with a subsistence farming economy supplemented by forest produce and daily labour.Voter concerns center on forest land rights under the FRA, tribal welfare scheme delivery, MGNREGA wages, road and electricity access in remote hamlets, healthcare, and persistent outmigration due to limited livelihoods.A sensitive Jangalmahal-belt constituency with historical Maoist influence now diminished. Bipolar TMC-BJP-Left contest with tribal identity and welfare scheme delivery playing decisive roles. High turnout (87.3 per cent) under Purulia Lok Sabha. In 2021, TMC’s Rajib Lochan Saren (an ST candidate) won by 18,831 votes (~7.9per cent of 238,101 total votes), defeating BJP decisively. TMC holds Bandwan comfortably; the margin reflects successful tribal welfare scheme outreach. Strategically important as one of TMC’s tribal strongholds in Puruliya district, anchoring the ST-community support base in the Purulia Lok Sabha cluster.
