Nandigram And Beyond: Constituencies To Watch Closely in West Bengal Election 2026

Votes have been cast, ballots are sealed, and all eyes are now on counting day, May 4, when the results of the high-stakes and intensely fought West Bengal Assembly election 2026 will be declared. The fight in Bengal is between the Trinamool Congress led by incumbent CM Mamata Banerjee and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The former, that has been ruling the state for the last 15 years, fought this election eyeing another term, while the BJP contested with the objective of putting its winning stamp for the very first time in the state. For the voters, who had a choice between the two Cs — continuity or change — have played their part by voting in record numbers since independence and the focus is now on the clock to turn 8 AM on May 4, when the counting begins.Before

the counting begins, the exit polls have also tried to predict what could be the possible outcome, but the real one will only be out on May 4. While there’s still a day left for the counting to begin, let’s take a look at some of the crucial seats in West Bengal whose results will set the next narrative.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WZiRHXMusM

Nandigram

Nandigram is one of those seats that will be closely watched on May 4. BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari, who defeated Mamata Banerjee on this seat in the 2021 polls, is eyeing his second consecutive victory in 2026. He stands against Trinamool Congress’ Pabitra Kar.Defeating Mamata Banerjee in 2021, Nandigram has since then become a BJP stronghold. This is one constituency which the saffron party is confident of having in its kitty for sure.During the campaigning, Suvendu Adhikari expressed confidence in BJP's prospects in the state, calling the region a "BJP stronghold". He asserted that the party would secure victory across constituencies in the area."This is a BJP stronghold...BJP will win all seats here... People here are against appeasement and are with Prime Minister Modi... BJP will win all seats... This time, the BJP will win nearly 177 seats, this is my personal analysis…”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvZME972k9U

Bhabanipur

Another Bengal seat which probably is even more in the focus and expected to emerge as the number one trend on May 4 is Bhabanipur. This is the seat of incumbent Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who once again faces challenge from none other than her former aide, Suvendu Adhikari.After defeating Mamata in the last election 2021 from Nandigram, Suvendu is hoping to unseat the Bengal CM from Bhabanipur also this time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyGSPA1oLSs

CM Banerjee is the sitting MLA from the seat, but Adhikari's previous win against her in Nandigram has raised the stakes this time around.The tension marks a dramatic escalation in the "battle of Bhabanipur," a seat Banerjee has held since 2011 but which the BJP has made its "biggest target" in the 2026 Assembly elections.During the campaigning, Suvendu said that the matter of women's safety and unemployment are the primary catalysts for a "huge wave of change.""This land is patriotic and some people want to weaken it... Women's safety and unemployment are major issues and a huge wave of change is prevailing... We are going to win at least over 170 seats."

Baruipur Paschim constituency

Baruipur Paschim Assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas district continues to remain a firm Trinamool Congress (TMC) bastion, with senior leader and State Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee winning all three elections since the seat's reconfiguration in 2008, even as the BJP has steadily expanded its presence in the region.The constituency, numbered 140, falls under the Jadavpur Lok Sabha seat and is a general category segment formed after 2000’s Delimitation Commission exercise, which split the original Baruipur seat into Baruipur Paschim and Baruipur Purba.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWcBR95-WOs&t=1s

Dum Dum Uttar

A TMC's bation, the urban Dum Dum Uttar assembly constituency, perched on Kolkata's northern fringes and represented by senior minister Chandrima Bhattacharya, no longer appears the assured TMC bastion it once was in the years following the party's ascent to power in 2011.A perceptible shift in political currents has rendered the seat far more competitive, with the ruling party confronting challenges both structural and symbolic.At one level lies the steady rise of the BJP in the area over the past decade, a surge that has unsettled the TMC's traditional dominance.

Kolkata Port

The fight in Kolkata Port is between BJP’s Rakesh Singh, TMC’s Firhad ‘Bobby’ Hakim, and CPM’s Faiyaz Ahmad Khan. Though all three parties indulged in a high-pitched election campaign, they are equally concerned about deletions in the voter roll which took place during the Special Intensive Revision exercise (SIR).After the SIR, the total number of voters witnessed a drop of around 26 per cent as the electorate reduced from 2.36 lakh to 1.75 lakh.Kolkata Port is part of Kolkata Dakshin Parliamentary constituency. It is a densely populated region where old businesses are setelled, since the city has a dock facility.Muslim voters form a significant portion of the electorate, followed by traders, working-class Hindu families, and transport workers.

Panihati

The contest in Bengal’s Panihati may be attached to peoples’ emotions as its the same place where the RG Kar Medical College is situated and where a junior doctor was allegedly rapped and murdered in August 2025.From this seat, BJP has given ticket to RG Kar victim’s mother Ratna Debnath.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYAQKQv3xsU

Trinamool has picked Tirthankar Ghosh, son of Nirmal Ghosh, a party veteran and current MLA.BJP is trying to convert the anger and distrust generated by the RG Kar movement into an anti-TMC vote. For the Trinamool, which has held the seat since 2011, Panihati is a major test.West Bengal has a total of 294 assembly constituencies and a party must secure the half-mark of 148 to claim government formation. The state recorded 93.19 per cent turnout in Phase 1 on April 23 and historic 91.66 per cent in Phase 2 on April 29.After the scheduled two phase election, the election commission ordered a repoll on May 2 in 15 booths of two constituencies in the South 24 Parganas region. As repoll concluded in these booths, the poll body announced re-election in Falta constituency, to be held on May 21 after reports surfaced that BJP button on the EVMs in this seat was covered with a tape. Bengal results will be declared on May 4, except for the Falta seat, whose counting will be held on May 24.