BJP MLAs Anandamay Barman and Sikha Chatterjee, who have clocked the highest victory margins of over 1 lakh and over 97,000, respectively, in the 2026 Assembly elections, attributed their thumping victories to the Centre’s infrastructural development in and around Siliguri.

Both Barman (Matigara-Naxalbari) and Chatterjee (Dabgram-Fulbari) were re-elected for the second consecutive term.

Barman retained the Matigara-Naxalbari in Darjeeling district with a margin of 1,04,265 votes over Trinamool’s Shankar Malakar. His is the highest victory margin in the state.

Chatterjee, who retained the Dabgram-Fulbari seat in the Jalpaiguri district, which also covers some wards of the Siliguri Municipal Corporation, defeated Trinamool’s Ranjan Shil Sharma by a margin of 97,715 votes, the second-highest in
the state.

“Since 2014, north Bengal, especially Siliguri and its surroundings, has been in the priority list of the central government. During these years, there has been a major change in the road network, the expansion of Bagdogra airport is in progress and the railway infrastructure has undergone extensive development. Several new trains have been introduced to facilitate faster travel to different locations. These developments have led to my victory,” said Barman.

He pointed out that the tea workers and their families — his constituency has many tea estates in the Terai — were disgruntled with the Trinamool government for its failure to address their issues.

Ahead of the elections, political observers had pointed out that in many areas of north Bengal, especially Siliguri and semi-urban areas on the outskirts, the BJP’s infrastructure card had struck a chord.

“Most people in these places were not interested in dole politics. They wanted better infrastructure to boost the local economy. The Centre’s efforts to improve the infrastructure got the BJP massive support, reflected in these two winning margins,” said an observer.

Chatterjee pointed out that the BJP had spoken of setting up central institutions such as IIT, AIIMS, IIM and a cancer hospital in north Bengal if voted to power.

“People need good institutions, healthcare facilities and infrastructure. Trinamool failed to meet these aspirations in north Bengal and, in fact, in the entire state. Instead, it focused on doles. Our party’s focus on this region prompted people to support us,” she said.