The 2026 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election was the 18th quinquennial legislative assembly election held in the Indian state of West Bengal on April 23 and April 29 in two phases, to elect 294 MLAs to the 18th West Bengal Legislative Assembly. The votes were counted and the result declared on Monday, 4 May. The election saw the defeat of the incumbent All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), led by Mamata Banerjee. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the election in a landslide and formed the government for the first time in the state. It is the first time since 1946 that a right-wing party has won the highest number of seats in the Bengal Legislative Assembly.
Over 9 million voters were removed through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) prior to the elections. This move has been criticized as erosion of democracy in India. The election recorded a historic voter turnout of about 94%, surpassing even the 2011 election, highest ever for a General election for the Parliament or State Legislative Assembly in India. In these elections, the Indian National Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) returned to the assembly after having no seats since the last election. The All India Secular Front also retained its sole constituency, while the newly formed Aam Janata Unnayan Party of Humayun Kabir gained two seats.
The Election Commission deployed over 350,000 security personnel in this state election, and conducted a largely violence-free election in a state with a history of political violence. There were 85,379 polling booths and about 4.5 lakh polling officers involved in the election. New booths were set up in urban areas in high rises and housing complexes due to allegations of voter intimidation in the previous election.
Many political analysts reported strong anti-incumbency against the 15-year rule of the All India Trinamool Congress, widely known as AITC. Several politicians, including WBPCC president Subhankar Sarkar, blamed AITC misrule, filled with corruption, political violence, and especially cases of violence against women, such as the 2024 Kolkata rape and murder at R. G. Medical college, as the main reasons for the defeat of AITC.
Initially, after the results were declared on 4 May, Mathabhanga Naxalbari had the highest winning margin. However, a full repoll for 21 May was ordered in Falta due to allegations of election malpractice. Results for Falta were declared on 24 May, and the BJP won a landslide victory with the highest margin in the state.
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.
+ Poll event Phases I II Notification date 30 March 2026 2 April 2026 Last date for filing nomination 6 April 2026 9 April 2026 Scrutiny of nomination 7 April 2026 10 April 2026 Last date for withdrawal of nomination 9 April 2026 13 April 2026 Date of poll 23 April 2026 29 April 2026 Number of constituencies 152 142 Assembly Constituency numbers AC 1–76AC 203–258AC 275–294 AC 77–202AC 259–274 Date of counting of votes 4 May 2026 Date of completion of electoral process 6 May 2026
Parties and alliances Bharatiya Janata Party
colspan="6" Party Flag Symbol Leader Seats Samik Bhattacharya Suvendu Adhikari 294
All India Trinamool Congress+
colspan="6" Trinamool Congress+ Party Flag Symbol Leader Seats Mamata Banerjee 291 Anit Thapa 3 Total 294
Left Front+
colspan="7" Left Front+ Party Flag Symbol Leader Seats Mohammed Salim 195 197 Ashish Chakraborty 1 Subhas Roy 1 All India Secular Front Nawsad Siddiqui 30 31 Hakikul Islam 1 Naren Chatterjee 24 Tapan Hore 18 Swapan Banerjee 17 Abhijit Majumder 10 Manindra Chandra Paul 1 Ajoy Edwards 1 Total 293+6
Friendly Contests
No.PartiesConstituencyNo.Name 1 RSP and CPI(ML)L 69 Bharatpur 2 ISF and AIFB 118 Madhyamgram 3ISF and RSP 128 Basanti (SC) 4 202 Khanakul 5 ISF and CPI 210 Nandigram 6 ISF and CPI(M) 294 Murarai
Indian National Congress
colspan="6" Party Flag Symbol Leader Seats Subhankar Sarkar 293
Others
Party Flag Symbol Leader Seats Chandidas Bhattacharya 230 Jay Prakash Singh 152 Humayun Kabir 115 Imran Solanki 12 Motilal Mahato 2
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.
List