Hours after counting in West Bengal began on Monday, the BJP maintained a strong lead, surging ahead in 183 Assembly seats against the TMC`s 101 as counting progressed steadily, signalling a potential political churn in a state long dominated by Mamata Banerjee and setting the stage for a high-stakes power shift.
With well over the halfway mark of 148 in the 294-member House within striking distance, the BJP`s early momentum pointed to a possible breakthrough, while the ruling TMC scrambled to close the gap in what is emerging as a fiercely contested and potentially game-changing electoral battle.
As reported by PTI, the early numbers suggested a geographically split mandate in the making, with the BJP pushing ahead in border, tribal and industrial regions, while the TMC held ground in parts of Kolkata and select rural strongholds. Counting for 293 Assembly seats began at 8 am with postal ballots, followed by EVM votes.
Mamata’s dominance in West Bengal likely to end
The election is widely seen as a referendum on Banerjee`s bid for a fourth consecutive term against an aggressive BJP that has sought to convert its 2021 gains into a decisive breakthrough.
While TMC has already conceded a decent lead amid the ongoing counting process, Mamata Banerjee was leading in her Bhabanipur stronghold by 898 votes over BJP challenger Suvendu Adhikari after three rounds of counting.
The Bhabanipur contest witnessed sharp swings through the morning, with Banerjee leading in the first round, trailing in the second, and regaining the advantage in the third — underlining the volatility of early trends.
Suvendu Adhikari leads by 3,100 votes from the Nandigram seat
However, in Nandigram, the other marquee battleground, media reports showed Adhikari ahead by over 3,100 votes against TMC`s Pabitra Kar after the first round, though the Election Commission was yet to upload official figures.
Adhikari, while talking to the media, said, “Out of the 14 booths counted in the first round, five were Muslim-dominated. Even there, the TMC is struggling,” as per PTI.
No victory rallies to be allowed on Monday after the announcement of assembly poll results
While the BJP is more likely to secure West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026, the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal, Manoj Agarwal, said that no rallies celebrating the victory of candidates will be allowed in the state on Monday.
Agarwal said the counting is going fine and no violence has been reported in the state; he further added, “We have directed all DMs not to allow any victory rallies today. These victory processions will be allowed from tomorrow. We don`t want any post-poll violence and appeal to everyone to stay calm and maintain peace,” as per PTI.
Political parties need to take permission from local police stations to bring out victory rallies, he said.
“There has been no incident of violence. Any poll-related death was reported from anywhere in Bengal,” Agarwal said.
The poll panel was looking into complaints that agents of different parties were unable to reach the counting centres, special observer Subrata Gupta told reporters earlier in the day.
(With inputs from PTI)