2026 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election

Background

The tenure of West Bengal Legislative Assembly was scheduled to end on 7 May 2026. The previous assembly elections were held in March to April 2021. After the election, the incumbent All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) formed the state government again after winning 215 out of 294 seats in the assembly, with Mamata Banerjee sworn in as the Chief Minister.

Political issues

The campaign was shaped by disputes over electoral rolls and citizenship, border security and undocumented migration, and broader debates over identity, governance, women's safety, employment, development, and anti-incumbency after 15 years of AITC rule.

SIR and electoral rolls

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls became one of the central controversies of the campaign. The SIR removed around 9 million voter entries from the rolls in West Bengal, representing about 12% of the electorate. Over six million were categorized as absentee or deceased, while the status of 2.7 million remained pending before tribunals. Dalit Hindus, especially from the Matua community, were affected in certain districts. The move was criticised as "bloodless political genocide" and erosion of democracy in India.

In February 2026, the Supreme court told the Calcutta high court to appoint judicial officers for helping West Bengal in carrying out the SIR exercise. It was decided to engage 150 judges from district session courts in the exercise.

The deletion of names from the rolls and the subsequent adjudication process became major political issues during the election period. The AITC said that the exercise risked disenfranchising genuine voters, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) defended it as a revision of bogus entries and illegal migrants. The issue remained under judicial scrutiny during the campaign.

Citizenship Amendment Act

The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) remained a separate campaign issue, particularly in areas where refugee and Matua politics were significant. The Union government published details of the act's implementation in the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024, in March 2024, and BJP leaders said that a BJP government in West Bengal would speed up citizenship processing under the Act. The AITC argued that the issue was being used to polarise the electorate and that the overlap between CAA, SIR and citizenship rhetoric had increased anxiety among minorities and some migrant communities.

Border security and migration

Border security and undocumented migration were also major issues in the campaign. BJP leaders framed cross-border movement, border fencing and the Siliguri Corridor as matters of national security and linked them to their wider argument on infiltration. The AITC rejected these claims as politically motivated and linked them to communal polarisation.

Identity politics

Identity politics remained significant in the campaign. Bengali asmita (identity), the Matua vote, and questions of language, belonging and representation were prominent themes in several regions of the state. The AITC sought to present itself as the defender of Bengali identity and state autonomy, while the BJP tied identity questions to citizenship, migration and Hindu consolidation in selected constituencies.

Corruption

Corruption and governance remained important opposition themes, especially because of the school recruitment scam and other ongoing investigations by central agencies. These allegations formed a major opposition line of attack on the AITC government's record in administration, public recruitment and institutional credibility. The AITC, by contrast, emphasised welfare delivery, continuity and its development record.

Women's safety

Women's safety was a recurring issue in the campaign, especially after the 2024 R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital rape and murder case, which drew national attention and remained part of the wider law and order debate. The AITC cited NCRB data showing Kolkata's comparatively low reported crime rate among large cities, while the BJP argued that such data did not capture under-reporting or failures to register cases.

Economy and employment

Employment, industrial development and public recruitment were also prominent issues, particularly among younger and urban voters. Concerns about job creation, delayed recruitment examinations, the effects of the recruitment scandal, and competing claims over investment and industrial growth featured prominently in the campaign. The BJP foregrounded jobs and industrial revival in its criticism of the state government, while the AITC campaigned on welfare schemes and promised continued investment and infrastructure expansion.

Anti-incumbency

Anti-incumbency after 15 years of AITC rule was also noted as a factor in the contest, although it overlapped with disputes over SIR, identity and citizenship. Dissatisfaction over jobs, corruption, governance and law and order was often discussed alongside these issues rather than separately.

Schedule

The Election Commission of India announced the schedule for the West Bengal Legislative Assembly election on 15 March 2026.

On consideration of severe electoral offences in Falta Assembly constituency, re-polling happened on 21 May 2026, with results for the seat on 24 May 2026.

Parties and alliances

Candidates

BJP released the first list of 144 candidates on 16 March 2026; the second list of 111 candidates (also included replacement of a candidate and support to an independent candidate) on 19 March 2026. The third list of BJP candidates was released on 25 March 2026 wherein 19 candidates were named. BJP released the fourth list of candidates on 31 March 2026 announcing 13 candidates and another 1 previously announced candidate was replaced.

AITC+ released their first list of 3 candidates on 15 March 2026, including 3 candidates for BGPM. AITC released their list of 291 candidates on 17 March 2026.

Left Front announced the first list of 192 candidates on 16 March 2026, including 142 seats for CPI(M), 21 seats for AIFB, 14 seats for CPI, 13 seats for RSP, and 1 seat each for RCPI and MFB; the second list of 32 candidates on 19 March 2026, including 28 seats for CPI(M), 3 seats for CPI and 1 seat for RSP; the third list of 15 candidates including 13 seats for CPI(M) and 2 seats for AIFB and the fourth list containing 7 candidates for CPI(M). CPI(ML)L announced the names of their candidates on 10 seats on 17 March 2026.

INC released first list of 284 candidates on 29 March 2026; INC released second list of 9 candidates on 1 April 2026.

Surveys and polls

Voting

Vote statistics

According to the Election Commission of India, 70,459,284 voters were eligible to vote in the assembly elections in West Bengal. This includes 36,022,642 male, 34,435,260 female, and 1,382 third gender.

As per the Election Commission of India, a total of 9,102,577 voters were removed since October 2025 during the entire program of Special Intensive Revision, shrinking total eligible voters by 11.88% to 67,534,952 compared to 76,637,529 in October 2025. After addition through additional supplementary lists, the final voter count stood at 68,251,008.

The second and final phase of voting across 142 constituencies concluded on 29 April 2026, with the Election Commission deploying over 350,000 security personnel statewide — including the National Investigation Agency for the first time in a state election — amid reports of localised violence in Howrah and Hooghly districts. There were 85,379 polling booths and about 4.5 lakh polling officers involved in the election.

Voting turnout

A huge and historic voter turnout of about 93% was recorded in the state, surpassing the previous record of 84% in 2011 assembly, when the 34 year rule of the Left Front fell to TMC. Over 6.3 crore votes were cast, at least 30 lakh more than the previous assembly and parliamentary elections in 2021 and 2024 respectively, in spite of a decrease of near 11% in voter list. Analysts cite the high voter turnout mainly due to the following possibilities:

The conduction of SIR in the state before the election, removed about 60 lakh ASDD (Absent, Shifted, Dead and Duplicate) voter entries leading to reduced total voters and a high turnout.

Due to high deletion in the voter list, voters have felt importance to cast vote and use their democratic rights. Some, especially Muslims and Bangladeshi refugees, feared if they don't, it may create problems in their future voting rights, further leading to cancellation of other government facilities or even citizenship.

Media reported high numbers of migrant labours coming from other states for the election. Upon one viral video from Gujarat, TMC accused BJP of breaching Election code by arranging train tickets and foods to migrant voters of Bengal working in other states, who were returning to the state in order to vote.

Possibilities of potential anti-incumbency like the previous 2011 election and a general trend all over the world during ruling party change in elections. This turned out to be true after the results.

In urban centres, mainly Kolkata metropolis, the usual low turnout trend changed. One of the main reason of this change was setting up of new booths in high rises and housing complexes. The residents, especially aged persons, felt excitement, ease and comfort in that while avoiding possibilities of poll violence outside. In previous elections, there were cases of such high rises and complexes being locked up by mobs linked to the ruling party TMC, during the elections. Such cases done by the ruling party, had been observed since the left era. TMC continuously opposed setting up of such booths by ECI.

Repoll

After receiving complaints about obstructing EVM buttons of opposition candidates with tapes, bubble gums or inking the BJP candidates' name and symbol by TMC cadre, the ECI took steps to verify these claims. Such cases were also observed in last general election in 2024. After verifying these cases, the ECI decided to do repoll in 15 booths of two assembly constituencies: 11 in Magrahat Paschim and 4 in Diamond Harbour on 2 May 2026. Beside that, due to heavy breaching in election procedures and EVM tampering, the whole assembly constituency of Falta was scheduled to be repolled.

The alleged EVM tampering by done at the directions of TMC candidate Jahangir Khan, and the entire assembly constituency was scheduled for repolling on 21 May, with counting and results on 24 May.

The BJP won a landslide victory in Falta assembly repoll with a margin exceeding 1 Lakh, highest in the state.

Results

The votes were counted and results were announced on 4 May 2026. There were 77 counting centres across the state.

Reactions

Domestic

As soon as trends suggested a victory for the BJP, celebrations were observed all over Bengal by BJP workers. TMC headquarters was observed to be emptying on the other hand.

The monumental electoral outcome in West Bengal resonated nationwide across India, generating widespread political commentary, public debate, and official reactions from national parties and leaders. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders hailed the mandate as a historic and transformative turning point for the state, declaring that West Bengal had been "freed from fear" and paving the way for administrative reform, growth, and development. National strategists noted that the landslide victory substantially strengthened the ruling party's political hegemony in eastern India and provided a powerful counterweight to previous setbacks in the 2024 general elections.

During the vote counting process, sitting CM Mamata Banerjee visited Bhabanipur counting centre where she publicly claimed about being physically attacked, and CCTV to have stopped working. This was denied by DEO of South Kolkata, West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) from ECI among others terming it as a lie. Thereafter, in an unprecedented act she refused to resign from her post and called the BJP victory as immoral. However, her own party's overall reaction was opposite i.e. acceptance towards defeat and self-criticism. Many in TMC had blamed Abhishek and Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) for corporatizing the party which led to the disastrous result. TMC candidate from Kashipur-Belgachia and Deputy Mayor of Kolkata, Atin Ghosh accepted the election results as clean and fair while also blaming Abhishek for overly depending on technology rather than doing grassroot work to remain informed about the public opinion. Former state minister and chairman of the English Bazar Municipality, Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury, directly criticized Abhishek and I-PAC for the defeat, while terming Mamata as Dhritarashtra. The same was also reflected in the comments made by Mamata's own counting agent who is Firhad Hakim's daughter, Priyadarshini where besides Mamata as Dhritarashtra she also called out her nephew, Abhishek as 'Duryodhana'. She signaled by stating "Don't blindfold yourself and see through the ears. The two epics are a lesson. When loyalty blinds judgment, history repeats itself." On the other hand, outgoing MLA and defeated TMC candidate of Behala Paschim, Ratna Chatterjee blamed syndicate, insolence and arrogance of the local leaders for the statewide defeat.

Among the sitting MPs of TMC, Mahua Moitra and Saayoni Ghosh respectfully accepted the public mandate to the BJP. Dev, accepting the BJP win, gave congratulations and good wishes to the BJP on getting the public mandate and requested upcoming government to complete Ghatal masterplan and end the political culture of 'ban and division' in Bengali film industry, pointing to the dominance and political discrimination by the TMC's Biswas brothers over it. Saugata Roy, terming the election as peaceful and deathless, commented: "People were angry at us. We could not handle the oppression and extortion by our local leaders. Besides, we were wrong for not being able to understand that Hindu polarization would reach this level". Although he did not expect the results to be bad for them up to that extent, but the election results led to his conclusion that he and his party had failed to read the public mind and people had voted against them en masse as if 'all people assembled in ground and took a decision to vote'. Kalyan Banerjee heavily attacked I-PAC by accusing it of hijacking and ruining the party, creating divisions among leaders by grooming multiple individuals for potential candidacy. He also criticised Abhishek for making the party overly dependent on the firm which was not accepted within the party.

International

The historic defeat of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) transition into power after 15 years of opposition drew significant global attention, capturing wide coverage across international media and responses from prominent world leaders.

Major international news organizations, including The New York Times, BBC News, and The Guardian, characterized the election outcome as a major political turning point in India. Publications noted that the BJP's breakthrough in West Bengal—a long-standing eastern regional bastion—marked a key milestone for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's national political dominance and significantly altered the state's traditional political landscape.

Following the announcement of the election results, several world leaders and foreign officials extended their congratulations. U.S. President Donald Trump praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, describing the mandate as a "historic" and "decisive" victory for the ruling coalition and praising India's democratic trajectory under Modi's leadership. Other global commentators and diplomatic circles also noted the significance of the peaceful transition of power in one of India's most politically volatile and populous states.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh, the neighboring country which borders West Bengal and also shares in common the Bengali language, culture and other cross-border ties is influenced by the development in West Bengal politics. Bangladeshi analysts are portraying the developments in West Bengal with contentions. Although they highlighted that power shift in a state will not impact the central government's external affairs at large, they asserted that internal policy shifts in the state of West Bengal can create influence in Bangladesh's internal politics. Analysts were optimistic on the proposed treaty on Teesta water sharing, which had been stalled for a long-time due to former state government's objections. Further they added that the state foreign policy would not be at a disadvantage because of the newly elected government. Some analysts expressed fear for a refugee crisis along the border.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led government of Bangladesh refused to comment on the election, calling it "India's internal affairs", and expressed desire to cooperate with "BJP or any other political party" in charge of the state. However, the government considerably increased security along the Indian border in concerns of possible push-ins of alleged Bangladeshi immigrants from India.

Members of the Jamaat-e-Islami-led opposition commented on the elections. Jamaat-aligned Islamist party Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis had organized a protest in Dhaka against alleged repression of Muslims in West Bengal and Assam after the elections.

Nahid Islam, MP and the convener of National Citizen Party and one of the leading figures of Bangladesh's July Uprising, alleged that Muslims and Matuas were denied the right to vote and faced persecution after the election, which he said had implications for Bangladesh. He called on Bangladesh to set an example for South Asia by ensuring safety for the minorities.

Aftermath

Fall of the incumbent government

In a move unprecedented in Indian politics, Mamata Banerjee, the incumbent chief minister of Trinamool Congress, refused to resign from her office despite losing her seat and an assembly majority in the election results. She had further alleged irregularities in the election conduct. Her tenure as chief minister came to an end on 7 May 2026 after the dissolution of the assembly by the state governor, R. N. Ravi.

New government formation

The BJP leadership selected the day of Rabindra Jayanti or 25 Baishakh of Bengali calender as the day of swearing in of the new government, which fell on 9th May and is a cultural day of the state marking the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore. On 8th May, Union Home minister Amit Shah came to Kolkata in order to have the Legislative Party meeting for selecting the Chief Minister candidate. Suvendu Adhikari, the outgoing Leader of Opposition, was selected as the Chief Ministerial candidate. On the next day, Adhikari took oath as the chief minister at Brigade along with five other BJP leaders from the state including Dilip Ghosh, Agnimitra Paul, Ashok Kirtania, Kshudiram Tudu and Nisith Pramanik as ministers of the inaugural cabinet. On 1st June, it was expanded to a full cabinet with swearing in of 35 more members.

Rebellion in Trinamool Congress

After the election, various politicians from the Trinamool Congress rebelled against the top leadership of the party. A split occurred in its legislative party, leading to disagreement over the office of Leader of Opposition.

Several members of parliament also rebelled against the top leadership. Certain members of parliament in the Lok Sabha extended their support to the governing National Democratic Alliance.

2026–2031 by-elections and re-elections