West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. File | Photo credit: PTI
The 2026 West Bengal elections will witness a high-stakes electoral battle between the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The 294-seat West Bengal Assembly has 215 legislators from the TMC and 77 from the BJP. Of the remaining two seats, the Rashtriya Secular Majlis Party secured victory in the Deganga seat, while the Kalimpong seat was won by an independent candidate.
The Left parties, which include the CPI(M) and the Congress, failed to register victory in a single assembly in West Bengal. With their vote share drastically reduced, the BJP is positioned as the central opposition party in West Bengal. On the other hand, Trinamool, which has ruled the state since 2011, retained its control in the eastern state in 2021.
TMC dominance in 2021
The TMC won the 2021 polls, securing 215 of the 290 seats contested. Survey data released by the Election Commission of India indicates that the party won 48% of the total votes polled in 2021.
However, party supremo Mamata Banerjee lost to BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari by 1,956 votes in Nandigram. She later won from Bhabanipur constituency in a by-election with a record margin of over 58,000 votes. Despite the loss, the BJP managed to get a record 38% of the votes in the assembly elections.
Winners of by-elections
2021
Bhabanipur seat: Mamata Banerjee won the Bhabanipur by-polls after TMC candidate Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay vacated the seat to pave the way for Ms Banerjee’s third term as Chief Minister.
Dinhata: Trinamool Congress president Udayan Guha won the Dinhata by-election seat after former BJP candidate Nisith Parmanik vacated the seat to become an MP.
Santipur: Trinamool Congress candidate Braja Kishore Goswami has won the Santipur by-election.
Khardaha: Trinamool Congress candidate Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay has won the Khardaha bypolls.
Gosaba: Trinamool Congress candidate Subrata Mondal has won the Gosaba bypolls.
2022
Ballygunge: Trinamool Congress candidate Babul Supriyo has won the Ballygunge seat. Before his victory, Mr. Supriyo was defeated as the BJP candidate in the 2021 assembly elections.
2023
Sagardighi: Congress candidate Bayron Biswas has won the Sagardighi bypolls, previously occupied by Trinamool Congress candidate Subrata Saha.
Dhupguri: Trinamool Congress candidate Nirmal Chandra Roy registered victory in the Dhupguri bypolls.
2024: Trinamool Congress candidates Reyat Hossain Sarkar and Sayantika Banerjee won the Bhagabangola and Baranagar bypolls. Further, TMC candidates Krishna Kalyani, Mukut Mani Adhikari and Madhuparna Thakur, Supti Pandey won Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin, Bagdah and Maniktala respectively. Again, by-polls for Sitai, Madarihat, Naihati, Harora, Medinipur and Taldangra in November 2024 saw Trinamool Congress candidates win.
2025
Kaliganj: 2025 Trinamool Congress candidate Alifa Ahmed has won the Kaliganj by-polls as per script.
Key Cabinet Ministers in West Bengal
Health and Family Welfare, Home Affairs, Information and Cultural Affairs, Land and Land Reforms and Refugee Relief and Rehabilitation, Minority Affairs, Personnel and Administrative Reforms and Planning Statistics: TMC Supremo Mamata Banerjee has been holding these seven portfolios since the Trinamool Congress was voted to power in 2021. Interestingly, starting November, Ms. Baner began her five-month reign in the finance department. 2021 to March 2022. She took charge after Finance Minister Amit Mitra stepped down due to health reasons.
Consumer Affairs: Trinamool Congress leader Biplab Mitra serves as Minister for Consumer Affairs. Mr. Mitra. Recognized for his instrumental efforts in establishing the Trinamool base in North Bengal, he won the Harirampur seat in 2021, defeating his rival BJP candidate by a margin of over 22,000 votes.
Higher Education: Bratya Basu currently serves as Minister for Higher Education in Mamata Banerjee’s cabinet. Mr. Basu, an academic in his past stints, took over the role in 2021, replacing Partha Chaterjee. He is the MLA from Dum Dum seat who defeated his rival BJP candidate by a margin of more than 26,000 votes.
Housing: Trinamool Congress senior leader Aroop Biswas currently holds the role of Housing Minister in the West Bengal government. Mr. Biswas, MLA from Tollyganj seat, defeated his rival BJP candidate Babul Supriya by a margin of more than 50,000 votes.
Information Technology and Electronics: Trinamool Congress MLA Babul Supriyo currently serves as the Minister for Information Technology and Electronics. Earlier under the BJP, Mr. Supriyo switched to Trinamool Congress after the party emerged victorious in the 2021 assembly polls. He won the Ballygunge assembly by-election as a TMC candidate after facing defeat in the 2021 elections as a BJP candidate.
Labor and Law: Trinamool Congress leader Moloy Ghatak currently serves as the Labor and Law Minister in the West Bengal Cabinet. He is the MLA from Asansol Uttar seat who defeated his rival BJP candidate Krishnendu Mukherjee by a margin of more than 21,000 votes.
Industry, Commerce and Enterprise, Women and Child Development and Social Welfare: Senior Trinamool Congress politician Sashi Panja holds the portfolio of Industry, Commerce and Enterprise and Women and Child Development and Social Welfare in Mamata Banerjee’s cabinet. A former corporate professional, she is the MLA from Shyampukur assembly seat for the last three terms (2011, 2016 and 2021).
Key opposition leaders in West Bengal
Suvendu Adhikari: Earlier known as a close confidant of Mamata Banerjee, Adhikari switched to the BJP in 2020 and became the face of the party in the state. He is currently serving as the Leader of Opposition in West Bengal and is identified as one of the sharp opposition voices in the state.
Mihir Goswami: After 22 years in the TMC, Mr. Goswami joined the BJP in 2020. Currently serving as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, he defeated his rival TMC candidate Rabindra Nath Ghosh in 2021 by a margin of over 23,000 votes.
Sushil Barman: MLA for Mathabhanga constituency, Sushil is one of the emerging faces in the ranks of key BJP leaders in the state. He won the Mathabhanga seat by a margin of over 26,000 votes.
Sukumar Roy: A senior BJP leader, Mr. Roy is currently serving as the BJP district president for the Coochbehar seat where he defeated TMC’s Binay Krishna Barman by a margin of 6.02% votes.
Sujan Chakraborty: A veteran CPI (M) leader, Mr. Chakraborty has performed his duties as an MP and legislator in the past. Despite being a harsh critic of the ECI SIR exercise, he has been critical of both the BJP and the TMC for quite a long time.
Samik Bhattacharya: A senior BJP leader in West Bengal, Bhattacharya’s efforts were instrumental in establishing a foundation for the BJP in West Bengal. For the upcoming 2026 West Bengal elections, he is actively conducting BJP’s outreach programs to civil societies and organizations to strengthen the party’s position.
Published – 19 March 2026 10:30 AM IST
