West Bengal Election 2026: What Did Supreme Court Tell Mamata Banerjee On SIR Role In TMC Defeat?

Kolkata: Mamata Banerjee's party, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) - which was ousted from power following a crushing defeat in the West Bengal Assembly Election 2026 - has held the SIR (Summary Revision of Electoral Rolls) responsible for the election results in the Supreme Court. During the hearing of a case related to the SIR on Monday, the TMC stated that the results in 31 constituencies were adversely affected as a direct consequence of this process.

TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee, appearing as counsel for the West Bengal government, argued that the margin of victory for the BJP in these 31 seats was narrower than the number of voters whose names were deleted during the SIR. He contended that had the SIR not taken place, the outcome in these constituencies could have been entirely different. In response, the bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi observed that the petitioners could file a separate plea specifically addressing this issue.

What did the Supreme Court say?

The bench noted that candidates from these 31 constituencies—including Mamata Banerjee herself—could file separate petitions substantiating this claim. The bench specifically mentioned Mamata Banerjee's name because the Bhabanipur constituency is among those where the margin of victory is reported to be smaller than the number of votes deleted during the SIR. The TMC counsel further pointed out that in several constituencies, the number of deleted votes was exactly equal to the margin of victory. Banerjee cited one specific instance where a TMC candidate lost by a margin of 862 votes, whereas 5,432 votes had been deleted from the electoral rolls in that very constituency during the SIR. He added that, across the state elections, the overall vote gap between the BJP and the TMC stood at 3.2 million.

Meanwhile, 3.5 million appeals regarding these deletions are currently pending before the Tribunal. Arguing as counsel, the MP-advocate also recalled a previous observation made by Justice Bagchi, in which the Justice had stated that if the margin of victory in a constituency was smaller than the number of deleted votes, such cases would be subjected to judicial scrutiny. The Supreme Court, for its part, reiterated that if any grievances existed, Mamata Banerjee and other aggrieved parties were at liberty to file separate petitions.

Did BJP Form Government in West Bengal for the First Time?

It is pertinent to note that the BJP secured 207 seats in the West Bengal Assembly elections. In a state with a total of 294 assembly seats, the BJP achieved an absolute majority and has formed the government for the very first time. With this victory, the party has scripted history—an achievement that Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself has hailed as a monumental success. It is noteworthy that voter turnout exceeded 90 percent in both phases of the elections in West Bengal. Ever since this voting took place, speculation has been rife as to whose favor the final outcome would ultimately tilt.