The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has crossed the 200-seat mark in the West Bengal Assembly elections 2026, comfortably above the 148-seat majority threshold, while the Trinamool Congress (TMC) is facing a steep setback after 15 years in power, reports NDTV.
The report also noted an incident in which a Trinamool office was set on fire amid the post-result tensions.
The election is the first in the state following a large-scale deletion of voters under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), which has added further controversy to an already closely watched contest.
The main electoral battle was between the ruling Trinamool Congress, led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and the BJP, whose campaign was fronted by Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, once Banerjee’s close aide. The contest also involved the Congress and the Left Front, while a newly formed outfit by suspended TMC MLA Humayun Kabir added another layer to the political dynamics, said the report.
Voting in the 294-member West Bengal Assembly was held in two phases on April 23 and 29, with repolling ordered in Falta constituency and a few booths elsewhere. Exit polls, however, failed to project a clear winner this time.
In the 2021 elections, the Trinamool Congress had secured 215 seats, while the BJP emerged as the principal opposition with 77 seats. The Congress and Left had failed to win any seats. Chief Minister Banerjee had lost to Adhikari in Nandigram but later returned to the Assembly through a bypoll from Bhabanipur.
NDTV also highlighted that Adhikari has once again turned Bhabanipur into a focal point of the political contest, intensifying the rivalry between the two leaders. The campaign this time was marked by ideological clashes, grassroots mobilization, promises of welfare schemes and development, and renewed calls for change in a state where Left rule ended 15 years ago.
