Legislative Assembly · District of Bundoora
Sagar Sanyal
Last verified 29 Sept 2026
Seat context — Bundoora›
Bundoora is a Legislative Assembly district of 35.32 km² in Melbourne's north-east, covering the suburbs of Bundoora, Kingsbury, Watsonia and Watsonia North plus parts of Greensborough, Macleod, Mill Park and Yallambie, and includes La Trobe University's main campus. It has been a safe Labor seat since its creation in 1976. At the 2022 election Colin Brooks was re-elected with a comfortable margin consistent with the seat's history.
Background
Says he has worked in tertiary education, as a school receptionist and as a factory worker, and as a stay-at-home dad raising young children in outer north-east Melbourne. SSelf-stated — VS-SANYALVictorian Socialists, "Sagar Sanyal - Candidate profile"View source
No employers are named, and his work history was not independently confirmed.
Describes himself as an active unionist in the NTEU and AMWU. SSelf-stated — VS-SANYALVictorian Socialists, "Sagar Sanyal - Candidate profile"View source
Says he is a community activist opposing public housing tower closures, and campaigning on climate inaction, Palestinian rights and police accountability. SSelf-stated — VS-SANYALVictorian Socialists, "Sagar Sanyal - Candidate profile"View source
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Fighting "pro-developer, pro-corporate policy".
Opposing the scapegoating of migrants.
Public health, education, welfare and housing; "I believe ordinary working people can make a better society — if we fight for it."
What Victorians say matters most
5 poll-led issuesCost of living and crime have ranked 1st or 2nd in every Victorian poll since mid‑2025, with debt and housing close behind — see schema §3 for the polling this grouping is based on (DemosAU, Ipsos Issues Monitor, Roy Morgan). The 0-10 'priorityScore' on each candidate's issue entries is NOT a measure of true importance or an independent ranking of what a candidate actually cares about. It reflects how much detail and specificity exists in what that candidate has actually said publicly on that issue -- a named policy mechanism and a verified voting record score higher than a one-line stated priority, regardless of the issue's real-world weight. Render this distinction in the UI wherever the score appears; do not label it just 'Priority' without the qualifier.
Cost of living
Says it is only when workers fight for pay and conditions that "the bosses ever give an inch".
The party's fiscal policy would fund services with a 10% annual wealth tax on billionaires, a 20% bank profits tax and a 20% super-profits tax on retailers earning over $100 million.
Crime and community safety
Campaigns on police accountability.
The party's policing policy would raise the age of criminal responsibility to 16, presume bail for all offences, introduce a police stop-receipting system and hold a Royal Commission into policing and corruption.
Housing affordability and supply
Opposes public housing tower closures, and names housing among his core priorities.
The party's housing policy would cut all residential rents 25% then freeze them for five years, build at least 15,000 public housing units a year for ten years and halt demolition of 44 public housing towers.
State government debt and fiscal management
The party's fiscal policy focuses on new revenue, including a 10% annual billionaire wealth tax and doubled payroll tax on firms with wages over $5 million.
No position on state debt levels was found, and nothing on it is attributed to Sanyal.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
A summary of the party's transport policy says it would make public transport free and reverse privatisation; nothing is attributed to Sanyal personally.
Also on the record
6 substance issuesThese don't top “biggest issue” polling, but carry real 2026 policy weight and genuine differences between parties.
Education and training
Names public education as a priority, and has worked in tertiary education as an NTEU member.
The party's education policy would cut state funding to high-fee private schools, cap class sizes at 15 and hire 12,000 additional teachers and support staff.
Health and healthcare access
Names public health as a priority.
A summary of the party's health policy says it would fully fund public healthcare and expand free community clinics.
Urban planning and housing density
Campaigns against "pro-developer" policy.
A summary of the party's planning policy says it would end public land sales and require developers to fund community amenities.
Climate and energy transition
Campaigns on climate inaction.
The party's energy policy would move to a 100% renewable grid through public investment, cap household bills and put energy distribution networks back into public ownership.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
A summary of the party's First Nations policy says it wants a treaty with material change beyond symbolic recognition; nothing is attributed to Sanyal personally.
Regional and rural Victoria
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Local & party context
2 fieldsNot scored the way the eleven issues above are — these are fixed facts about the seat and the party, not positions with more or less emphasis behind them.
Closures of public housing towers, which he campaigns against. SSelf-stated — VS-SANYALVictorian Socialists, "Sagar Sanyal - Candidate profile"View source
His profile names no specific Bundoora site beyond the outer north-east. SSelf-stated — VS-SANYALVictorian Socialists, "Sagar Sanyal - Candidate profile"View source
Sanyal runs on the Victorian Socialists' statewide platform, and his activism (public housing, climate, Palestine, police accountability) matches it. SSelf-stated — VS-SANYAL, VS-POLICIESVictorian Socialists, "Sagar Sanyal - Candidate profile"View sourceVictorian Socialists, "Policies"View source
No point of divergence was found.
Track record & prior candidacies
His candidate profile mentions no prior campaign. SSelf-stated — VS-SANYALVictorian Socialists, "Sagar Sanyal - Candidate profile"View source
He is not among the candidates in the 2018 or 2022 Bundoora results; the Victorian Socialists' 2018 candidate was Jacob Andrewartha (2.3%) and the party fielded no candidate in 2022. VVerified — WIKI-BUNDOORA-RESULTSWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Bundoora"View source
Campaign, money & endorsements
Campaign logistics
Endorsements & Donations
Per the Victorian Electoral Commission's funding guidance (vec.vic.gov.au, accessed 2026-09-29 via search snippets of its independent-candidate and registered-party funding pages), a candidate is eligible for public election funding if they receive at least 4% of first-preference votes in their contest, or are elected. Funding is reimbursed against an audited statement of campaign expenditure, and advance funding must be repaid in full if the threshold is missed.
Sanyal has not previously contested an election, so he has no funding entitlement from an earlier contest. The party's 2018 Bundoora candidate polled 2.3%, under the 4% mark.