Asansol - The City Of Brotherhood

Asansol city is in Bardhaman District in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the second largest city in West Bengal after Kolkata and the 35th largest urban agglomeration in India. According to a 2010 report released by the International Institute for Environment and Development, a UK-based policy research non-governmental body, Asansol is ranked 11th among Indian cities. and 42nd in the world in its list of 100 fastest-growing cities. As per the recommendations of the Sixth Central Pay Commission, Asansol has been listed as a Y-category city for calculation of HRA (House Rent Allowance) for public servants. It is one of the three non-Z category cities in West Bengal apart from Kolkata, which belong to the X category making it a tier-II city.

Geography

Asansol is a cosmopolitan city located in Barddhaman District of the Indian state of West Bengal. It forms the lower Chota Nagpur plateau, which occupies most of Jharkhand. It is located between the Damodar and Ajay rivers. Another river, Barakar, joins the Damodar near Dishergarh. A small rivulet, Nunia, flows past Asansol.

Asansol (Lok Sabha constituency) is one of the 543 parliamentary constituencies in India. The constituency centres on Asansol in West Bengal. All the seven assembly segments of No. 40 Asansol (Lok Sabha constituency) are in Bardhaman district.

Overview

On the eve of 2014 elections, The Statesman described the constituency as follows: "The Asansol Lok Sabha constituency is conspicuous by its mixed population — coal mine workers, factory workers, coal mafia, scrap dealers, minority population and a large section of Hindi speaking population.”The New Indian Express said that the constituency was dotted with coal mines and 50% of the electorate was Hindi speaking.The Statesman has put the proportion of non-Bengali voters in the constituency at 36%.

The United News of India (UNI) has been candid about the second largest city and urban agglomeration in West Bengal after Kolkata that is a hub of coal mining and railway activity bordering Jharkhand. Asansol has seen, it writes, “a sustained hold over it by the CPI(M) since 1984 (1989?). Before that it was a tale of fluctuating fortune for the CPI(M) and the Congress… However, as the green surge swept Bengal to demolish the red bastion in 2011 Assembly elections… Moreover, as the Left still remained cornered in state politics, their neutralised voters are increasingly migrating to the BJP for a viable alternative.”