West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee waves at a rally during a meeting of TMC workers ahead of the state assembly elections in Kolkata. | Photo credit: PTI
West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress President Mamata Banerjee on Sunday (March 21, 2026) launched her campaign for the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency with a workers’ rally.
The meeting was held at Ahindra Mancha and eight Trinamool councilors were also present, including minister Firhad Hakim, who is also a councilor from the area. With Bharatiya Janata Party leader Suvendu Adhikari vying with the Trinamool president, the South Kolkata assembly seat has become a prestigious battle for both parties.
Read | Mamata versus Suvendu in Bhabanipur
Located in the heart of Kolkata, the constituency has voters from various communities, including Hindus, Sikhs and Jains. Both Ms Banerjee and her nephew, party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, reside in the constituency. The Chief Minister won three consecutive elections from the constituency in 2011, 2016 and 2021.
After losing to Mr. Adhikari in Nandigram by a margin of 1,956 votes in the 2021 elections, Ms. Banerjee won by a margin of 58,832 votes in the September 2021 by-election in Bhabanipur, securing 72% of the total votes polled.
In the council elections in 2026, the competition became interesting for two more reasons. First, the BJP narrowed its gap with the Trinamool in the Bhabanipur Assembly during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, with the Trinamool’s lead falling to 8,297 votes in 2024 as against 58,832 votes in the 2021 Assembly elections. In five Kolkata Municipal Corporation constituencies (63, 70, 71, 72 and 74), the BJP won more votes, while the Trinamool he led in three precincts – 73, 77 and 82.
The second important issue was the delisting of voters during the Special Intensive Review (SIR) exercise. Controversial in the state since its inception, the SIR process saw about 47,000 voters struck out and another 14,000 brought before the court in the constituency.
Read | Suvendu Adhikari accuses Mamata of violating the Election Code and demands EC action
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier this month said that despite the deletions due to SIR, Bhabanipur will win. “I will win from Bhabanipur even if only one voter remains on the electoral roll,” the chief minister said on March 3 while addressing a rally here.
Mr. Adhikari, who started his campaign a few days ago in Bhabanipur, is playing his chances of victory against the Chief Minister. A BJP leader is also contesting from Nandigram.
Amid the Bhabanipur appeal and the first supplementary voter list to be decided to be released on Monday (March 23, 2026), the Chief Minister postponed her visit to North Bengal. Instead of Tuesday, he will start his campaign in North Bengal on Wednesday (March 25, 2026).
Published – 22 March 2026 23:27 IST
