On 8 April 2026, BJP released its final candidate list for the West Bengal Assembly elections. There was not a single Muslim name among all the candidates declared for 294 seats. On April 8, the party made Rakesh Singh the last candidate from Kolkata Port seat and completed the list, whereas in the last elections there were Muslim BJP candidates. So should we assume that BJP Muslims of Bengal no longer trust Muslims? Let us understand BJP’s Bengal magic in the explainer…

Question 1: How many Muslim candidates did BJP have in the last elections in Bengal? What was the result?
answer: The last assembly elections were held in West Bengal in 2021. At that time BJP had fielded Muslim candidates on only 8 out of 294 seats. These were mostly in Muslim dominated areas like Dinajpur, Malda and Murshidabad. But the results were shocking. Not even one of the 8 Muslim candidates won. Muslim dominated 112 seats were won by Trinamool Congress (TMC). TMC got 75% votes, while BJP got only 7%.

In Sujapur, Malda, a candidate got single digit votes in 244 out of 366 booths, 0 votes in 19 booths. BJP won 77 seats across Bengal, but its performance was very weak in Muslim areas.

Earlier in 2016, BJP had fielded only 3 Muslim candidates. None of these were successful. In 2016, BJP had got only 3 seats. That means the trend is clear that the numbers kept decreasing every time.

Question 2: So what is BJP’s strategy in the elections this time?
answer: BJP’s strategy is now completely based on ‘winnability first’. The party feels that Muslim candidates on BJP tickets do not get the support of Muslim voters. The Muslim population in Bengal is about 33%, but a large part of Muslim voters are strongly associated with TMC.

BJP is now focusing on 100% consolidation of Hindu votes. It wants to consolidate the Hindu population by raising the issue of ‘minority appeasement’ and emphasizing on issues like development, security, border security. Minority Morcha leaders are also saying that service to the community is not about fielding candidates, but about development and security.

Bengal BJP Minority Morcha President Ali Hussain clearly said, ‘The party believes that responsibility for any community does not depend only on fielding candidates from that community.’

After the defeat of Muslim candidates in 2021, the party concluded that even by giving tickets one does not get votes, hence it has completely turned its back on this route.

Question 3: How many Muslim candidates did other parties field in the 2026 Bengal elections?
answer: Compared to BJP, all other parties have placed bets on Muslim candidates:

• Congress: Maximum 78 Muslim candidates.
• TMC: 47 Muslim candidates.
• Left Front: 26 Muslim candidates.
• AIMIM and AJUP alliance: More than 12 candidates in Muslim dominated areas.

Due to BJP’s absence, the opposition is calling it ‘anti-Muslim’, but BJP argues that the responsibility is fulfilled not by ticket but by work.

Question 4: What impact can this decision have on the electoral equation?
answer: Political expert Rashid Kidwai says that in 2021, 75% of Muslim votes went to TMC. Even in 2026, most of the Muslim votes may go towards TMC or Congress. Votes may get divided by small parties like AIMIM. This could be an indirect benefit for BJP. Overall, BJP’s target is to increase its vote share to 38% in 2021 by consolidating Hindu votes. BJP also wants to fight Hindu vote consolidation in Muslim dominated seats. At the same time, TMC’s emphasis is on further strengthening the Muslim vote.

Experts believe that if Muslim vote is divided then BJP may benefit, but if TMC keeps it united then polarization of Muslim vote will further strengthen it.

Question 5: So how big is this decision and what next?
answer: This decision of 2026 is the clearest indication of BJP’s Bengal strategy that ‘winnability first, community representation later.’ There was no benefit in fielding 8 Muslim candidates in 2021, so the party has now sidelined it. For BJP, this is not just a candidate list, but a new direction of Bengal politics. BJP says that 2 lakh Muslim members will be served through development and not through tickets. But the opposition is calling it ‘ignoring Muslims’. The real decision will be taken on the day of counting on May 4, 2026.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has left to file nomination for the elections from Bhawanipur Assembly seat of Kolkata. Bhawanipur seat is considered very important for Mamata Banerjee, because it has been her traditional constituency. Like every time, this time too she is going to contest elections from this seat.

With his departure to file nomination, political activities have intensified. On this occasion, many party leaders and supporters can also be seen with him. There has been an increase in the politics of the state regarding this election and everyone’s eyes are now fixed on Bhawanipur seat.

Competition with BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari

This time a big and direct contest is being seen on the Bhawanipur seat of Kolkata in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections. Here Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee is facing senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari. This contest is also considered special because BJP has tried to repeat the contest of 2021 Nandigram elections by fielding Suvendu Adhikari. At that time also there was a tough competition between the two leaders.

Why is Bhawanipur assembly seat important?

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has a deep and old connection with Bhawanipur assembly seat. This seat is not just an electoral constituency but is considered an important part of his political identity. His strong hold on this seat has been seen in every election, due to which this seat has become a stronghold of TMC (Trinamool Congress). Bhawanipur is a prominent and politically active area of ​​Kolkata, where the number of urban voters is high. Education, business and middle class play a big role in this area, which affects the election results. Mamta Banerjee has proved her popularity by winning from here several times.

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Assembly elections have been announced in 5 states of the country. Political activities in Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala Puducherry and West Bengal are at their peak. The most interesting election among all these states is that of West Bengal. The biggest reason for this is the state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, whose outspoken political personality does not give her opponents a chance to breathe. When the opponent is like BJP, then the political dispute becomes like a storm. Mamata Banerjee’s assembly seat is going to become the center of a similar fight.

Bhabanipur assembly seat of West Bengal has become the hottest seat of this election. The reason is that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will contest from this seat and BJP was aware of this, hence they had announced the name of Shubhendu Adhikari on this seat 24 hours in advance. This is the matter of high voltage collision. In the name of assembly elections, let us know how interesting is the history of Bhabanipur assembly seat and what is the relation of this seat with Mamata Banerjee after 2011.

Bhabanipur Assembly seat is part of South Lok Sabha constituency.

Bhabanipur Assembly seat falls in Kolkata South Lok Sabha constituency. In the delimitation of 2011, its name was Bhabanipur. Before this, this seat was known as Kalighat Assembly Constituency. Only the name of this seat did not change in 2011. Along with the name, its political interest also increased. It so happened that in the 2011 assembly elections, Trinamool Congress got a whopping 184 seats. Then Mamata Banerjee was the Railway Minister at the Center and MP from Kolkata South Lok Sabha. Now when TMC government was being formed in Bengal, Mamata had to become the Chief Minister. Therefore, Bhabanipur seat Subrata Bakshi resigned and Mamata Banerjee became MLA from this seat in the by-election.

Mamta Banerjee contested elections in 2016

In 2016, Mamata Banerjee again contested the elections from Bhabanipur assembly seat and won the elections by more than 65 thousand votes. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee changed her seat in the 2021 assembly. However, this change became the biggest mistake in his political history. While being the Chief Minister, she lost the assembly elections from Nandigram. Although the margin of defeat was only about 2 thousand votes, but defeat is defeat.

Mamta Banerjee got a shock in Nandigram

Mamata Banerjee got a shock in Nandigram and she again reached her Bhabanipur seat for the by-election. Shobhandeb Chatterjee, who won from this seat in 2021, resigned and vacated the seat. In this by-election, Mamata Banerjee won the election with a margin of more than 85 thousand. Now once again this political battle has become interesting. The reason for this is that Shubhendu Adhikari, who defeated Mamata in Nandigram, is also beating Bhabanipur. However, it remains to be seen whether Shubhendu Adhikari will be able to create the same conditions for victory in Nandigram in Bhabanipur seat. Bhabanipur has been the traditional seat of Mamata Banerjee and this seat is in the same South Kolkata from where she has also been an MP. In such a situation, competition with Mamata Banerjee cannot be easy. Now it has to be seen what results this seat, which was lucky for Mamata, gives this time.