Assembly Elections 2026: BJP announces List of 144 Candidates in West Bengal; Suvendu faces Mamata

Kolkata: The BJP has released its first list of 144 candidates for the West Bengal Assembly elections. The state comprises a total of 294 Assembly seats. Consequently, the release of this list signifies that the BJP has announced the names of approximately half of its candidates. In this list, the BJP has also announced the name of the Leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari. He has been fielded from both the Bhabanipur and Nandigram Assembly constituencies.

What had Suvendu Adhikari achieved in 2021?

Adhikari had caused a major upset in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly Elections by defeating Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Given this context, the BJP has once again signaled its intention to set up a direct face-off against Mamata Banerjee. It is in furtherance of this strategy that Suvendu Adhikari has been fielded from two seats; on one hand, he will contest from Nandigram—the seat he won last time—while on the other, he will pose a direct challenge to the West Bengal Chief Minister in Bhabanipur.

Mamata Banerjee had suffered a defeat in the Nandigram Assembly constituency during the previous election cycle. Subsequently, recognizing the constitutional mandate that a Chief Minister must also be a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), she contested and won a by-election from the Bhabanipur constituency. TMC MLA Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay had resigned from his seat to vacate it for the Chief Minister. It will now be interesting to observe from which constituency Mamata Banerjee's name appears in the TMC's list of candidates; she lost in Nandigram last time, whereas she currently serves as the MLA for Bhabanipur.

What will Mamata Banerjee do?

Now that Suvendu Adhikari has entered the fray in both constituencies, the question remains: will Mamata Banerjee choose to confront him directly, or will she opt to contest from a third, different constituency? All eyes remain fixed on this development. This is precisely why there is such intense curiosity surrounding the announcement of Mamata Banerjee's candidature, and why the release of the TMC's candidate list is being awaited with such anticipation. The strategy of fielding Suvendu Adhikari against Mamata Banerjee is considered particularly astute because, if she were to become embroiled in a high-voltage electoral battle in a single constituency, it would become significantly more difficult for her to campaign effectively across the remaining constituencies of the state.

Could the BJP's Strategy Backfire?

The inherent challenge facing the TMC is its heavy reliance—almost exclusively—on Mamata Banerjee for its election campaigning. Her nephew, Abhishek Banerjee, serves as the party's only other prominent campaigner. Under these circumstances, if "Mamata Didi" were to become bogged down in a fierce contest within a single constituency, it would prove extremely difficult for her to venture out and conduct a comprehensive campaign across the entire state. The BJP employed this very strategy during the previous election as well, and it appeared to yield a measure of success. Having won a mere three seats in 2016, the BJP achieved victory in 77 seats in 2021.

From Which Seat Has the BJP Fielded Dilip Ghosh?

It is noteworthy that the BJP has fielded its former State President, Dilip Ghosh, from the Kharagpur Sadar constituency. Out of the BJP's list of 144 candidates, only 11 women have been given a ticket. The BJP has fielded Paritosh Das from Alipurduar. Additionally, Dr. Shankar Ghosh has been given an opportunity to contest from Siliguri. Party sources indicated that, this time around, the BJP has placed its trust in its own cadre rather than relying on candidates from outside the party fold.