There could be a landmark change in West Bengal as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could form its very first government in the state post-independence on account of this year’s election results. The All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), currently headed by West Bengal’s Chief Minister Mamata Bannerjee, looks set for a humiliating defeat in this election. This will be the first election following an extensive voter list revision via the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

This year’s electoral politics has been a clash between the ruling party and the BJP. For the BJP, a significant player has been Suvendu Adhikari, who had been a loyal aide of Banerjee until he became a staunch opponent of hers. Other important players include the Indian National Congress (INC) and the Left Front, among others. An intriguing addition has been that of a newly formed political party formed by the suspended MLA Humayun Kabir of AITC, who gained notoriety in the past for proposing to name a mosque after Babri.

Two phases of voting took place in West Bengal, i.e., on 23rd April and 29th April. The re-election was conducted in Falta and some polling booths on account of irregularities.

The Numbers Game

The West Bengal Legislative Assembly consists of a total of 294 seats, and for any party to come up with a government, one needs to win a minimum of 148 seats.

In the 2021 elections, the Trinamool Congress won convincingly, getting 215 seats, and the BJP got 77 seats to become the official main opposition party for the very first time. The Congress Party as well as the Left Front did not get even one single seat. Even though Mamata Banerjee lost in the high-profile constituency of Nandigram to her rival Suvendu Adhikari, she regained entry into the assembly through the by-poll held in Bhabanipur.

Now, Suvendu Adhikari will contest against Mamata Banerjee in her own constituency of Bhabanipur, which makes the constituency all the more important for the counting process.

On the whole, there has been a fiercely contested race in West Bengal, and ideological battles, ground-level campaigns, welfare schemes, political changes, among others, have been the highlights of the election process of West Bengal that has been free from the leftists for the last 15 years.