Bengal Polls 2026: BJP Edges Ahead in Early Trends as Tight Contest Unfolds

Kolkata — The battle for West Bengal is shaping up to be a closely fought contest, with the Bharatiya Janata Party holding a slight edge over the ruling All India Trinamool Congress in the initial hours of vote counting.

As of 10 a.m., trends from 176 out of 293 Assembly constituencies showed the BJP leading in 90 seats, while the Trinamool Congress was ahead in 82. The Indian National Congress and Communist Party of India (Marxist) were leading in two seats each.

In Malda district, Congress candidates were ahead in Malatipur and Mothabarii. Notably, Mausam Benazir Noor—a former MP who recently returned to Congress—was leading from Malatipur.

The CPI(M) was leading in Jalangi and Domkal constituencies in Murshidabad district.

Among prominent BJP leaders, Suvendu Adhikari was ahead in Nandigram, while Dilip Ghosh led in Kharagpur (Sadar). Agnimitra Paul was ahead in Asansol (Dakshin), and Swapan Dasgupta was also among those leading.

On the other hand, some members of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s cabinet, including Sashi Panja from Shyampukur, were trailing narrowly in early rounds.

Trends for the high-profile Bhabanipur seat—where Mamata Banerjee is in direct contest with Suvendu Adhikari—were still awaited at the time of reporting.

With counting set to continue through multiple rounds—ranging from 10 to 26 depending on constituency size—the early numbers suggest a tight and potentially volatile electoral outcome as the day progresses.

With inputs from IANS