West Bengal's 2,926-candidate assembly election battle is set across two phases on April 23 and 29, headlined by a high-stakes rematch between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and BJP's Suvendu Adhikari in her Bhabanipur stronghold.
NEW DELHI — A total of 2,926 candidates will contest the West Bengal Legislative Assembly elections across both phases after the deadline for withdrawal of nominations passed on April 13, 2026, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Tuesday.
Phase I, covering 152 assembly constituencies, will see 1,478 candidates in the fray, while Phase II, covering 142 constituencies, will have 1,448 candidates contesting. West Bengal Phase II goes to polls on April 29, 2026. Votes will be counted on May 4.
The Election Commission had announced the schedule for general elections to the legislative assemblies of Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal, along with bye-elections in six states, on March 15, 2026.
The election's most watched battle is shaping up in Bhabanipur, the south Kolkata constituency that has long been Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's political stronghold. BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari is contesting against her there — the second straight election in which the two leaders have directly faced each other. Previously, Adhikari had narrowly defeated Banerjee in the 2021 West Bengal elections from the Nandigram constituency.
Once one of the most powerful ministers in Mamata's cabinet, Suvendu became her most bitter opponent and harshest critic after he joined the BJP months ahead of the 2021 assembly election. Though Trinamool roared back to power in 2021 winning 215 of the 294 assembly seats, Mamata lost to Suvendu in Nandigram by just 1,956 votes — a humiliating reminder in an otherwise remarkable victory that brought her back to power for the third consecutive term. She subsequently returned to the assembly through a bypoll in Bhabanipur, winning by a margin of over 58,000 votes.
In 2026, the stakes are even higher. Adhikari is contesting from both Nandigram and Bhabanipur in a twin-seat gamble, setting up a high-voltage face-off. The constituency has become a symbol of political prestige, where victory or defeat could carry far-reaching implications for both leaders.
The Bhabanipur contest has been further complicated by a contentious voter list revision. The final post-Special Intensive Revision (SIR) voter list deleted over 47,000 names from Bhabanipur — roughly 23 percent of the electorate — a figure that is very close to Banerjee's 58,832-vote margin in the 2021 Bhabanipur bypoll. Adhikari has repeatedly claimed the revisions expose stolen, duplicate, illegal, and deceased votes that helped TMC claim consistent victories, while Banerjee has hit back fiercely, accusing the Election Commission and BJP of a nexus aimed at voter suppression.
Defiant as ever, the Chief Minister has declared she will win Bhabanipur even if by just one vote, and notably chose not to contest from a second, safer seat — unlike Adhikari, who has kept open the safer alternative of defending his stronghold of Nandigram.
In Nandigram, Adhikari faces TMC's Pabitra Kar — a former BJP insider once considered close to Adhikari himself, making the contest deeply personal and politically charged. Kar had left Trinamool with Suvendu in 2020 and played a key role in ensuring victory over Mamata in the subsequent election, before recently returning to the Trinamool fold.
BJP has also fielded Dilip Ghosh from Kharagpur Sadar, Agnimitra Paul from Asansol South, and former Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta from the Rashbehari seat. In Rashbehari, Dasgupta will face sitting TMC MLA Debasish Kumar, CPI(ML-L) leader Manas Ghosh, and Congress leader Ashutosh Chatterjee.
In Dinhata in North Bengal's Cooch Behar district, BJP has nominated Nisith Pramanik, a prominent leader who previously served as Minister of State for Home Affairs from 2021 to 2024. The seat is one of the most politically volatile in the state, with intense fights between TMC and BJP in recent years.
The 2026 election is anticipated to be a fierce political fight between the ruling TMC, headed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and the main opposition BJP, with the Left Front and Congress also contesting in a bid to recover their traditional voter base. Key issues dominating the campaign include illegal immigration across the India-Bangladesh border, debates around the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the SIR voter roll revision, endemic corruption allegations against the TMC government, and unemployment.
Banerjee has expressed confidence of winning over 226 seats, signalling a strong push for another term. Results will be declared on May 4.
Voters can access details of candidates — including educational qualifications, criminal antecedents, and assets and liabilities — and download affidavits through the "Know Your Candidate" tab on the ECINet App. EVM ballot papers will also carry coloured photographs of candidates along with their serial number, name, and symbol in large font for the ease of voters.
