West Bengal Elections 2026: Bhabanipur, Nandigram, Kharagpur - key battlegrounds to watch
West Bengal Elections Results: Most exit polls have projected an edge for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with seat estimates ranging between 140 and 192. The majority mark in the 294-member House is 148
- May 3, 2026,
- Updated May 3, 2026 12:18 PM IST
West Bengal Election Results 2026 | Counting of votes for West Bengal's 294 assembly seats is set to begin on Monday (May 4). Most exit polls have projected an edge for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with seat estimates ranging between 140 and 192. The majority mark in the 294-member House is 148.
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If the exit poll projections hold, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC) could lose power after 15 years in office. Banerjee is contesting from Bhabanipur. She is once again facing a tough contest from Suvendu Adhikari, who defeated her in Nandigram in 2021.
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Here are the key battlegrounds to watch as results come in
| Bengal's Big Battles | Key candidates | Constituency history and challengers |
| Bhabanipur | Mamata Banerjee vs Suvendu Adhikari | In Bhabanipur, Banerjee is up against Suvendu Adhikari. TMC has held this seat since 2011. After losing Nandigram to Adhikari, Mamata shifted here and won the seat in the bypoll. |
| Nandigram | Suvendu Adhikari vs Pabitra Kar | Adhikari is contesting from two seats - Nandigram and Bhabanipur. He defeated Mamata in Nandigram in 2021. This time, he is taking on TMC's Pabitra Kar. |
| Kharagpur Sadar | Dilip Ghosh vs Pradip Sarkar | Dilip Ghosh, former BJP state chief, is taking on TMC's Pradip Sarkar. In 2021, BJP's Hiran Chatterjee had defeated Sarkar in a very close contest. Ghosh is a former MP, who lost the last Lok Sabha election from Bardhaman–Durgapur. |
| Baharampur | Adhir Ranjan vs Subrata Maitra | Chowdhury, former West Bengal Congress chief, is in a three-way contest in Baharampur. He is pitted against the BJP's Subrata Maitra and Naru Gopal Mukherjee. Maitra bagged this seat in 2021. |
| Mathabhanga | Nisith Pramanik vs Sablu Barman | Nisith Pramanik, former MoS Home, is contesting from Mathabhanga, which the BJP wrested from TMC in 2021. His challengers are TMC's Sablu Barman and CPIM's Khagen Barman. In 2021, the BJP's Sushil Barman secured nearly 53% of the votes here. |
| Asansol Dakshin | Agnimitra Paul vs Tapas Banerjee | Agnimitra Paul, BJP's sitting MLA, is squaring off with TMC's Tapas Banerjee in Asansol Dakshin. She had defeated TMC's Saayoni Ghosh in 2021. |
| Kolkata Port | Firhad Hakim vs Rakesh Singh | Firhad Hakim, Mamata Banerjee's right-hand man and Kolkata Mayor, is up against BJP's Rakesh Singh and CPI (M)'s Faiyaz Ahmad Khan. Hakim has held this seat since 2011. |
| Rashbehari | Swapan Dasgupta vs Debasish Kumar | Swapan Dasgupta, former Rajya Sabha MP, is in direct contest with TMC's Debasish Kumar. TMC has never lost an election here in the last three decades. Dasgupta contested the 2021 election from Tarakeswar, but lost after a decent fight. |
| Panihati | Ratna Debnath vs Tirthankar Ghosh | Ratna Debnath is the mother of the trainee doctor who was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata in 2024. BJP has fielded her against TMC's Tirthankar Ghosh. TMC has held this seat since 2011. In 2021, the BJP candidate secured 35% of the votes here. |
| Sonarpur Dakshin | Roopa Ganguly vs Arundhuti Maitra | Here, BJP's Roopa Ganguly is up against TMC's Arundhuti Maitra. Ganguly was once among the highest-paid television actresses during the 1980s. Maitra is also an actress who is known for her work in Bengali television. TMC has held this seat since 2011. |
West Bengal Election Results 2026 | Counting of votes for West Bengal's 294 assembly seats is set to begin on Monday (May 4). Most exit polls have projected an edge for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with seat estimates ranging between 140 and 192. The majority mark in the 294-member House is 148.
Don't Miss: Game over for Mamata? Today's Chanakya predicts a landslide win for BJP in West Bengal
If the exit poll projections hold, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC) could lose power after 15 years in office. Banerjee is contesting from Bhabanipur. She is once again facing a tough contest from Suvendu Adhikari, who defeated her in Nandigram in 2021.
Must Read: Kerala Election Results 2026: Dharmadam, Nemom, Palakkad - key battlegrounds this election
Here are the key battlegrounds to watch as results come in
| Bengal's Big Battles | Key candidates | Constituency history and challengers |
| Bhabanipur | Mamata Banerjee vs Suvendu Adhikari | In Bhabanipur, Banerjee is up against Suvendu Adhikari. TMC has held this seat since 2011. After losing Nandigram to Adhikari, Mamata shifted here and won the seat in the bypoll. |
| Nandigram | Suvendu Adhikari vs Pabitra Kar | Adhikari is contesting from two seats - Nandigram and Bhabanipur. He defeated Mamata in Nandigram in 2021. This time, he is taking on TMC's Pabitra Kar. |
| Kharagpur Sadar | Dilip Ghosh vs Pradip Sarkar | Dilip Ghosh, former BJP state chief, is taking on TMC's Pradip Sarkar. In 2021, BJP's Hiran Chatterjee had defeated Sarkar in a very close contest. Ghosh is a former MP, who lost the last Lok Sabha election from Bardhaman–Durgapur. |
| Baharampur | Adhir Ranjan vs Subrata Maitra | Chowdhury, former West Bengal Congress chief, is in a three-way contest in Baharampur. He is pitted against the BJP's Subrata Maitra and Naru Gopal Mukherjee. Maitra bagged this seat in 2021. |
| Mathabhanga | Nisith Pramanik vs Sablu Barman | Nisith Pramanik, former MoS Home, is contesting from Mathabhanga, which the BJP wrested from TMC in 2021. His challengers are TMC's Sablu Barman and CPIM's Khagen Barman. In 2021, the BJP's Sushil Barman secured nearly 53% of the votes here. |
| Asansol Dakshin | Agnimitra Paul vs Tapas Banerjee | Agnimitra Paul, BJP's sitting MLA, is squaring off with TMC's Tapas Banerjee in Asansol Dakshin. She had defeated TMC's Saayoni Ghosh in 2021. |
| Kolkata Port | Firhad Hakim vs Rakesh Singh | Firhad Hakim, Mamata Banerjee's right-hand man and Kolkata Mayor, is up against BJP's Rakesh Singh and CPI (M)'s Faiyaz Ahmad Khan. Hakim has held this seat since 2011. |
| Rashbehari | Swapan Dasgupta vs Debasish Kumar | Swapan Dasgupta, former Rajya Sabha MP, is in direct contest with TMC's Debasish Kumar. TMC has never lost an election here in the last three decades. Dasgupta contested the 2021 election from Tarakeswar, but lost after a decent fight. |
| Panihati | Ratna Debnath vs Tirthankar Ghosh | Ratna Debnath is the mother of the trainee doctor who was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata in 2024. BJP has fielded her against TMC's Tirthankar Ghosh. TMC has held this seat since 2011. In 2021, the BJP candidate secured 35% of the votes here. |
| Sonarpur Dakshin | Roopa Ganguly vs Arundhuti Maitra | Here, BJP's Roopa Ganguly is up against TMC's Arundhuti Maitra. Ganguly was once among the highest-paid television actresses during the 1980s. Maitra is also an actress who is known for her work in Bengali television. TMC has held this seat since 2011. |