Kolkata, May 4
BJP has secured an absolute mandate in West Bengal in the 2026 Assembly elections. By the timing of this report, leads showing the party at 195+ seats out of 293 declared, it has comfortably crossed the majority mark of 148 seats, ensuring its first-ever government in the state. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has been reduced to under 95 seats, marking a historic political shift.
Bengal stands at the cusp of history. For the first time since Independence, the Bharatiya Janata Party is poised to capture the reins of power in a state long considered impenetrable. Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, after fifteen years of uninterrupted rule, finds itself staring at a possible rout in an election marked by unprecedented voter deletions under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
The battle has unfolded as a direct clash between Banerjee and her one-time protégé turned adversary, Suvendu Adhikari—the fiery Leader of Opposition who has emerged as the BJP’s spearhead. Adding layers to the contest are the Congress and the Left Front, both struggling to regain relevance, and a new entrant led by suspended Trinamool MLA Humayun Kabir, who drew attention with his controversial plan to build a mosque named after Babri.
Polling was conducted in two phases on April 23 and 29, with repolling ordered in Falta and select booths elsewhere. The stakes are monumental: the West Bengal Assembly’s 294 seats demand a simple majority of 148 for any party or coalition to claim power.
The backdrop is telling. In 2021, the Trinamool swept 215 seats, while the BJP surged to 77, establishing itself as the principal opposition for the first time. Congress and the Left were wiped out. That election also saw Banerjee lose to Adhikari in Nandigram, only to return via a bypoll from Bhabanipur.
This time, Adhikari has carried the fight straight into Bhabanipur, Banerjee’s bastion, ensuring that the constituency becomes the epicenter of counting-day drama. Yet the tremors are felt across Bengal, where the campaign was a fierce collision of ideologies, promises of welfare and development, and a renewed call for change in a state that witnessed the fall of the Left fortress fifteen years ago.
In West Bengal, where people voted for 294 seats, it is a battle between the Trinamool Congress helmed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP has crossed the half mark and is leading in over 199 seats, according to early trends. Mamata Banerjee’s part on the other hand is leading in over 88 seats.
The election holds importance for two reasons – first, Bengal has long avoided the BJP. And second, Mamata Banerjee has waged a war against the Election Commission over the voter roll clean-up exercise Special Intensive Revision (SIR) that removed 89 lakh voters – roughly 11.6 per cent of the state’s electorate. The figure is slightly more than the winning margin of the Trinamool Congress in 2021.
