Few elections in recent Indian political history carried the sense of suspense that surrounded the 2021 West Bengal assembly polls. For weeks, the campaign transformed the state into the centre of a fierce political contest, with the ruling All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee facing an aggressive challenge from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Exit polls pointed to a tight finish. The campaign had been intense, high-profile and deeply polarised. Yet when the votes were counted, the verdict was decisive.
Banerjee’s TMC returned to power with a commanding two-thirds majority, securing 213 seats in the 294-member assembly. The BJP emerged as the principal opposition with 77 seats, a sharp rise from the three seats it had won in the previous assembly election, but well short of its ambition to form the government.
The result capped one of the most closely watched electoral battles in the country.
The numbers behind the verdict
| Alliance / Bloc | Vote Share (%) | Seats Won | Key Leader | Constituency |
| TMC-led alliance | 48%+ | 213 | Mamata Banerjee | Nandigram (lost) |
| BJP alliance | 38% | 77 | Suvendu Adhikari | Nandigram (won) |
| Left–Congress–ISF alliance | ~10% | 1 | – | – |
A contest that held the spotlight
Across the wider electoral map, the broad outcomes were widely anticipated. The BJP and its allies were expected to retain power in Assam, face defeat in Tamil Nadu, and struggle in Kerala, while making gains in Puducherry.
West Bengal, however, remained the most unpredictable theatre.The BJP had entered the contest buoyed by its strong showing in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, when it sharply expanded its vote share and secured 18 parliamentary seats in the state.
The party launched an expansive campaign for the 2021 assembly election, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior leaders, seeking to convert that parliamentary momentum into state power. In response, the TMC framed the election as a contest over the state’s political direction and regional identity.
The BJP’s strategy
The BJP’s electoral approach centred on expanding its organisational footprint in the state while attempting to erode segments of the ruling party’s support base.
One key component of this strategy was the induction of several prominent TMC leaders into its ranks ahead of the election. Among them were senior figures such as Suvendu Adhikari and Mukul Roy, both of whom had long been associated with the TMC’s organisational structure.
The party also focused on consolidating support among a range of social groups across different regions of the state.
Despite these efforts, the BJP failed to project a single state-level leader to challenge Banerjee directly, instead relying heavily on national campaign figures.
Changing political alignments
The political landscape in West Bengal had already been shifting in the years leading up to the election.
Much of the BJP’s growth came from the erosion of the traditional support base of the Left Front, which had governed the state for more than three decades until 2011. In the 2019 parliamentary election, the Left’s vote share declined sharply while the BJP’s rose to over 40%, signalling a major realignment in the state’s political arithmetic.
This shift was particularly visible in regions such as North Bengal, Jangal Mahal, and parts of the Bardhaman industrial belt, as well as among sections of refugee communities in districts like Nadia and North 24 Parganas.
The Left and the Congress contested the 2021 election in alliance, but their combined vote share translated into very few electoral gains, leaving the contest largely bipolar between the TMC and the BJP. Along with the left and INC, was a new political force named the Indian Secural Front (ISF), founded by Abbas Siddique – a religious leader from South Bengal.
The ISF secured the lone seat of Bhangar, with Abbas’ brother Naushad Siddique emerging victorious.
Welfare programmes and social outreach
In the final tally, the TMC secured roughly 48% of the vote, maintaining a gap of about 10 percentage points over the BJP.
Observers attributed part of this support to the reach of several welfare programmes introduced by the state government in recent years. These included initiatives aimed at expanding social protection and delivering targeted benefits to specific sections of the population.
Among the prominent schemes were the public health insurance programme Swasthya Sathi, the government outreach initiative Duarey Sarkar, and earlier programmes such as Kanyashree, a cash transfer initiative for girls’ education, and Sabooj Sathi, which provided bicycles to school students.=
The state government also extended free foodgrain distribution through the public distribution system during the pandemic period, a measure that reached a large number of households.
The wider political climate
The election took place against a backdrop of multiple national and regional developments.
Economic pressures following the pandemic-induced lockdown, the return of migrant workers to several states including West Bengal, and debates surrounding issues such as the farm laws, fuel prices, and citizenship legislation all formed part of the wider political discourse during the campaign.
Civil society groups, cultural figures and grassroots organisations also played visible roles in mobilising opinion during the election period.
A reshaped opposition
While the BJP fell short of forming the government, the party’s performance marked a significant shift in the state’s opposition landscape.
From a marginal presence in the assembly a decade earlier, it emerged as the largest opposition force, displacing the once-dominant Left parties.
The result created a new political dynamic in West Bengal, with the TMC retaining a strong mandate while the BJP positioned itself as the primary challenger in the state’s evolving political contest.
