By Admin 
2026 came like a big earthquake in the politics of West Bengal, which demolished the 15 year old fort of Mamata Banerjee and her party TMC. A leader who once had the courage to overthrow the 34-year rule of the Left Front on her own. Today her party was reduced to just 80 seats and she herself lost the election from her traditional seat Bhawanipur. This defeat did not happen suddenly, but was the result of several major incidents and deepening governance failures in the last few years, which weakened Mamata Banerjee’s strong hold.
1. Women Safety and RG Tax scandal: Big dent in vote bank
A major basis of Mamata Banerjee’s electoral strength had always been women voters, whom she managed to keep connected with schemes like ‘Lakshmir Bhandar’. But R.G. The rape and murder of a female doctor in Kar Medical College changed this entire equation. This incident not only raised deep concerns about women’s safety in the state, but also gave rise to a huge public anger.
Civil society took to the streets and staged massive protests. Serious questions were raised on the role of administration in this. This incident created a crisis of confidence among women for Mamata government. The election results clearly indicated that women’s priority had shifted from welfare schemes to their own security.
2. Many corruption scandals: Questions on the system of party and government
During Mamata Banerjee’s 15-year rule, there were so many allegations of corruption that it became the ‘identity’ of her government, which the opposition named ‘corruption industry’. In the initial phase, Saradha Chit Fund Scam and Narada Sting Operation dented his image, but after this the Teacher Recruitment Scam (SSC Scam) came to light. This scam broke the dreams of thousands of educated youth, who did not get jobs even after passing the exam.
Due to the public recovery of bundles of cash, the word reached every household that jobs were being sold. Apart from this, allegations of ration distribution scam, municipal recruitment scam, coal and cattle smuggling established corruption as a system. The arrest of many big party leaders and ministers strengthened the perception among the general public that the government is completely corrupt.
3. Allegations of polarization and appeasement: cracks in the social fabric
A large part of Mamata Banerjee’s politics focused on the welfare of the minority community, but gradually it came to be seen as ‘appeasement’. In 2019, his statement that he was ‘ready to kick the cow that gives milk’ added fuel to the fire and BJP capitalized on it. After this, communal violence in districts like Asansol, Malda, Murshidabad and Basirhat and incidents like Sandeshkhali further strengthened the perception in Hindu dominated areas that the administration takes only one-sided action.
In 2026, Mamata Banerjee had said that without her government, one community could destroy the majority ‘within a few seconds’. This statement made the situation more explosive. As a result, there was huge polarization of majority votes and there was a split in Muslim votes for TMC.
4. Governance failure and migration: Government failed to live up to basic issues
Mamata government completely failed on the development front. Due to lack of industries in the state and ‘Syndicate Raj’ (rule by strongmen and local goons), big investors stayed away from Bengal. This reduced employment opportunities and increased migration of skilled youth out of the state. The poor condition of education and health services created deep resentment among the middle class, the effect of which was clearly visible in the elections. Especially on the seats of Kolkata where BJP wiped out.
Additionally, the strong anti-incumbency arising from 15 consecutive years in power further fueled public resentment. Internal strife within the party and departure of many big leaders to BJP also became a major reason for the weakening of the organization.
5. SIR broke its back: Big blow of losing 91 lakh voters
Just before the 2026 elections, the Election Commission removed more than 91 lakh names from the voter list, which was about 12% of the total voters. A large number of these removed names were said to be of people who were either dead or had migrated out of the state, but TMC called it a move targeting ‘illegal voters’ i.e. minority voters.
This controversy created an environment in which confusion and distrust spread among TMC supporters, while a record turnout of 93 percent was in favor of BJP. This tremendous surge in voting percentage proved to be the final blow, which broke the unity of the opposition votes and brought down Mamata’s 15 year old fort.
All these incidents and issues together turned into a political storm, which completely demolished the 15-year-old fort of Mamata Banerjee and paved the way for the formation of BJP government for the first time in West Bengal.