West Bengal, one of India’s most culturally vibrant and politically significant states in the eastern region, has recently entered an assembly election amidst strong anti-incumbency sentiments. These sentiments have emerged due to issues such as employment scams, rising appeasement to minority, communal polarization (partly influenced by developments in neighbouring Bangladesh), an increasingly authoritarian style of governance, and political interference affecting sectors like education and healthcare and other. Sensing an opportunity, opposition parties specially Bharatiya Janata Party backed by central leadership have attempted to mobilize public support. Additionally, the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR), which removed a large number of valid voters apart from duplicate and deceased voters allegedly benefiting the saffron party, has further strengthened the ruling TMC as well as other parties in the opposition.
However, the opposition faces significant challenges. First, Mamata Banerjee’s leadership continues to command widespread acceptance across different sections of society and it is due to highly popular Lakshmi Bhandar among womenfolk. Second, her popularity could be maintained in the transactional context of various social welfare schemes floated to woo popular support especially with slight rise in pecuniary benefits for Asha workers, civic volunteers which was a strategic decision to champion the subaltern interests of Bengal vis-a-vis pro-high-caste BJP. Third, after the centre stopped paying the dues and changed the MGNREGA to a new scheme (VB-G RAM-G), the TMC supremo was prompt to make narratives for the people of West Bengal that the Centre has deliberately deprived the state economically, which her government would compensate despite limited revenue basket of the state within the federal distribution. As per available reports, the TMC has claimed that the Centre keeps nearly 2 lakh crores pending as dues but refuses to disburse on political ground. Finally, Bengali identity and language politics also worked in her favour, especially when recent reports of harassment of Bengalis in states like Maharashtra and Haryana circulated through the media.
Historically, after India’s independence, Bengal was bitterly divided into West Bengal and East Bengal (now independent Bangladesh). In West Bengal early elections during 1950s were shaped by communal polarisation and migration. In the 1952 election, Congress clinched a majority mainly due to its leadership and hold over the rural backwater. Contrary to the prevalent perception, Bengal was also a home of communal politics facilitating Bharatiya Jana Sangh to win a small but notable share. Over time, internal divisions within Congress and sustained leftist mobilization and mushrooming organizations among the refugees, Namasudras and toiling masses movements, a decisive political shift took place in 1977. The long tenure of the Left Front emphasized class politics, which significantly overshadowed the influence of identity-based politics in the state.
Even during the 1990s, when coalition governments led by the NDA were formed at the centre, religion-based politics did not gain much traction in West Bengal due to the strong grassroot penetration by the Left. However, this began to change in the post-Sachar and post-Singoor phase that culminated with TMC’s ascent to power. Subsequently, the TMC-led government took a political line to counter the rise of the emergent Saffron wave that began to sweep most of northern and western India. Needless to say, it was aimed at forestalling the intrusion of BJP in West Bengal. Nevertheless, by the 2016 assembly elections, the influence of the BJP had grown substantially and in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, it secured 18 out of 42 seats. At this juncture political defections became quite commonplace, with several prominent leaders switching sides. Despite strong campaigns and ambitious targets by the BJP in the 2021 assembly elections, TMC emerged triumphant in retaining power, limiting the BJP to 77 seats out of 294 strong seats of the State Assembly. The elections, however, were marked by intensely violent political clashes and muscle-flexing.
Post-2021, the phenomenon of communal polarization has permeated and intensified in various parts of the state. The reels in social media would testify this alarming trend. Reluctant administrative response was ill-suited to stem the rot in terms of increasing incidents of violence. If “party society” according to Professor Dwaipayan Bhattacharya, ushered in deviation in the political culture of the state towards the later part of the Left Front regime, the TMC regime can be alleged to be wanting on myriad counts, particularly for huge leakage of public money in scams. The economic health of the state also got deteriorated with total outstanding debt of the state government reaching above 7 lakh crores. It startles any observer more because the state economy is projected to grow as high as 11.85 % in nominal GSDP in FY 2025-26. The situation is one of bewildering paradox because state’s GSDP growth, per capita income and sectoral performance–all speak of impressive upward swing. However, the state needs calibrated policy to make up the revenue and fiscal deficit.
This year one probable factor that might influence voters’ perception could be the ghastly developments in Bangladesh during the last one year, particularly changes in its political landscape and reports of minority persecution. Lynching of several innocent lower class Hindus in Bangladesh immediately ignited the sentiments on this side of the border. Also a pervasive general trend is that identity-based politics has since gained prominence in the state, with even small entities like ISF and Jatiya Unnoyan Party trying to vigorously challenge TMC while the BJP has focused on groups like the Matuas. Although the Left and Congress are perceptively lagging behind in this high-voltage contest, they can’t be set aside as inconsequential marginal forces. It is due to young and energetic youth brigade comprising Minakshi, Satarup who are proven demagogues to attract the younger generation through persuasive speeches, especially on social media platforms. They have formed an alliance with ISF and are optimistic about putting tough fight in minority-dominated areas. After a long time, former Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chaudhury, has contested in the Assembly election from Berhampore, and people are expecting a strong result from his stronghold in Murshidabad.
Elections in West Bengal have long been associated with political violence, spanning from local body elections to assembly and parliamentary polls. It reminds us of the research work undertaken by Dr. Sajal Basu who brought out a book on this subject long ago. During 1960s and 1970s the state saw ruthless culture of violence to suppress and eliminate the political opposition. Here mark the word ‘political opposition’. It does not mean crackdown on ideological opposition which in fact continues to draw sustenance and sympathy from a significant segment of academia and civil society. With time, increasingly such naive tactics have been replaced by engineering pressure on the opposition and integration by cooption without however eliminating the possibility of vandalisation by furious mobs aligned with party. It has made the political arena overtly partisan in the sense of blind loyalty to party line.
The objective of political violence however can be reduced to taking control of power centres with any contest. As it was Keshpur during the Left Front, so was it 2018 Panchayat election in which around 34% seats was won uncontested. The 2021 election was no exception as it saw significant spurt in violence before and after polling. According to official records, thousands of incidents were reported, including serious crimes. In response, the Election Commission implemented several measures to ensure free and fair elections in 2026. These included large-scale deployment of paramilitary forces, 100% live webcasting of polling stations, real-time updates of voting data, and voter-friendly initiatives such as improved ballot design, mobile deposit facilities, and assistance for differently-abled voters.
Voter participation in this election reached unprecedented levels. Out of 6.81 crore registered voters, turnout exceeded 90% across both phases, resulting in an overall participation of 92.42% the highest in the state’s history. This marked a significant increase compared to earlier milestones, such as 56.15% in 1977 and 84.72% in 2011. The high turnout reflected a strong public desire to exercise voting rights, with migrant workers and professionals returning home to participate.
A notable development was the shifting nature of traditional vote banks. The ruling party observed that sections of Muslim voters were gravitating toward alternative party loyalties marked by ISF across multiple regions. Similarly, new political challenges also emerged in strongholds like Murshidabad by Jatiya Unnayan Party of ex-TMC leader Humayun Kabir. Among the Matua community, dissatisfaction over citizenship issues led to divided loyalties, with some sections showing anger to the leadership of BJP.
Initially, the SIR process drew criticism for being exclusionary, as many people were removed from voter lists. While this concern holds some validity, the Election Commission’s efforts to ensure that genuine voters could cast their ballots without fear of violence presented another dimension of inclusiveness. In conclusion, despite challenges, controversies, and evolving political dynamics, the election ultimately reflected a high level of public engagement and participation. It can be described as a true celebration of democracy, where citizens actively exercised their right to vote in large numbers.
DR. Mihir Dey, Sushil Kar College
Dr. Arpan Bhattacharya, Ramananda College
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Dr. G.S. Nag, SKB University, West Bengal