The political battle has intensified in West Bengal ahead of the assembly polls in April. The Election Commission of India had announced earlier that voting in the Bengal elections will be conducted in two phases on April 23 and 29. The first phase in the state will cover 152 constituencies, and the second phase will cover 142 seats.
The battle, largely, will be between the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) and All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), to stake claim of the CM seat. Since the announcement of the polling dates, leaders from both the parties have thrown strong words at each other.
Speaking at a summit in Delhi last week, PM Narendra Modi attacked TMC president and current CM Mamata Banerjee, saying the ruthless state government has constantly put brakes on the development in Bengal. “West Bengal used to be a hub of culture, education, industry, and trade at one time. In the last 11 years, the central government has invested a large amount in the development of West Bengal, but unfortunately, there is such a ruthless government there that is putting the brakes on development,” Modi had said.
Meanwhile Mamata has alleged that the BJP is trying to include illegal voters from NDA-ruled Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in the electoral rolls of the state to turn the poll outcome in favour of the saffron party.
While the war of words continue, let’s look at which could be the five most-closely fought seats in the upcoming elections.
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Nandigram
Nandigram remains a key political battleground, represented by two-time MLA Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP, who is also seen as one of the party’s key faces in West Bengal and a potential chief ministerial candidate.
Adhikari has maintained a strong hold over the constituency. In the 2021 assembly elections, he secured nearly 49 percent of the votes and notably defeated Mamata. In 2016, his vote share wa even higher, reportedly in the 65–67% range, underscoring his dominance in the seat.
In a strategic counter, the TMC has fielded Pabitra Kar against Adhikari this time. Kar is a former BJP member and was once considered close to Adhikari. He joined the TMC just hours before his candidature was announced, adding an extra layer of intrigue to the contest.
TMC wants to win this seat back. Their second-in-command and general secretary Abhishek Banerjee is tracking developments on this seat personally. “Nandigram is my responsibility. All of you take responsibility for the coming 25 days. For the next five years I will be responsible for Nandigram.” Banerjee said addressing a workers’ meeting in Nandigram on March 25.
Bhabanipur
Bhabanipur has been a stronghold of the TMC since 2011, with Mamata representing the seat multiple times as MLA.
Following the 2021 assembly elections, where Banerjee lost from Nandigram, she needed to secure a seat to continue as chief minister. To make that happen, the sitting TMC MLA from Bhabanipur vacated the seat, paving the way for a by-election. Banerjee contested and won the bypoll, thereby becoming a member of the West Bengal Vidhan Sabha while already holding the CM’s post.
Bhabanipur will be the most closely watched seat this election, not because it sees a sitting CM fighting from there but BJP has pitched Adhikari again in front of her after he defeat her in 2021 at Nandigram. Adikhar is fighting from two seats, Nandigram and Bhabanipur.
Murshidabad
Murshidabad is one of the few constituencies in West Bengal where the Indian National Congress continues to retain a significant presence. Shaoni Singha Roy won this seat in both 2011 and 2016 on a Congress ticket, underlining the party’s traditional base here.
However, the Congress lost the constituency in the last assembly election, when Gauri Shankar Ghosh of the BJP emerged victorious. Not to forget, in 2021, Roy fought on this seat with a TMC ticket and this year too she is with Trinamool. She is expected to give a tough fight to Ghosh. Congress has fielded Siddiqi Ali from this seat. This is one of the rare seats where Congress can also raise hopes of winning. With the TMC, BJP, and Congress all having a comparable presence, Murshidabad is expected to witness a highly competitive battle.
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Jadavpur
Jadavpur has long been a Left stronghold, with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) dominating the seat from 1967 to 2006, winning multiple consecutive elections over nearly four decades.
TMC broke this stronghold in 2011, with Manish Gupta winning from there, marking a major political shift. However, the Left managed a comeback in 2016, with Sujan Chakraborty winning the seat despite CPI(M) declining influence across the state. In 2021, TMC regained control once again as Debabrata Majumdar won from there.
Jadavpur is now shaping up as a direct contest between the TMC and the Left. For the CPI(M), which has struggled to regain its footing in West Bengal, this constituency represents one of its few remaining pockets of hope for a revival. The fight will be between TMC’s Majumdar and CPI(M)’s Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, who is a former mayor of Kolkata and a Rajya Sabha MP.
Kharagpur Sadar
Kharagpur Sadar will witness a high-profile contest between two leaders popularly known as ‘Dada’ within their respective parties — Dilip Ghosh of the BJP and Pradeep Sarkar of the TMC.
In the 2021 assembly elections, BJP’s Hiran Chatterjee won the seat, defeating Sarkar in a closely fought contest. Ghosh, who had earlier secured victory from this constituency in 2016, is now looking to reclaim it.
Sarkar, who has also held political ground in the region, is once again in the fray, making this a tightly contested battle. While the seat remains open-ended, Ghosh may hold a slight edge, given his growing popularity and his tenure as BJP’s West Bengal state president from 2015 to 2021.
