Battle of Bengal: On the West Bengal Assembly election 2026

The West Bengal Assembly election, to be held in two phases on April 23 and 29, is shaping up as a two-party race between the incumbent All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Left and the Congress have been pushed to the margins in the intense combat.

The Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) is contesting the three Darjeeling hill seats as an ally of the TMC. The TMC, which has been in power for three terms, has replaced 74 sitting Members of the Legislative Assembly to deflect anti-incumbency and bring in fresh faces to the field.

In 2021, the TMC won 215 seats with a 48.02% vote share while the BJP secured 77 seats with 38%, a sharp rise from when it bagged just three seats and a 10.2% vote share in 2016. Chief Minister and TMC leader Mamata Banerjee is facing off against Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, from the BJP, in Bhabanipur, where she is the sitting MLA. In 2021, she had lost to Mr.