2011 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election

2011 West Bengal state general election

18 April 2011 (2011-04-18) – 10 May 2011 (2011-05-10)
294 seats 148 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	84.33% ( 2.36%)
Majority party Minority party Third party   Leader Mamata Banerjee Buddhadeb Bhattacharya Manas Bhunia Party AITC CPI (M) INC Alliance United Progressive Alliance Left Front (West Bengal) United Progressive Alliance Leader since 1 January 1998 6 November 2000 1982 Leader's seat Bhabanipur (By-elected) Jadavpur (Lost) Sabang (Won) Last election 30 seats, 10.2% 176 seats, 59.8% 21 seats, 14.7% Seats before 30 176 21 Seats won 184 40 42 Seat change 154 136 21 Popular vote 18,547,678 14,330,061 4,330,580 Percentage 38.93% 30.08% 9.09% Swing 12.29% 7.05% 5.62%
Chief Minister before election Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee CPI (M) Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee AITC

A legislative assembly election was held in six phases between 18 April and 10 May 2011 for all the 294 seats of the Vidhan Sabha in the state of West Bengal in India. The Trinamool Congress won an absolute majority of seats. Notably, incumbent Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee lost his Jadavpur seat to Trinamool's Manish Gupta by just under 17,000 votes.

The election also marked the defeat of the longest-serving democratically elected Communist government in the world, ending the 34-year rule of the Left Front government, a fact that was noted by the international media.

Background

This was the first legislative assembly election for the Vidhan Sabha since political agitation and violence in Nandigram and the Tata Nano Singur controversy, led by opposition party chief Mamata Banerjee, caused deaths by police firing amidst protests.

The Left Front had governed West Bengal since 1977. The election also followed the defeat of the Left Front in the 2009 general election, as well as its relatively poor showing in Panchayat and municipal elections.

Delimitation

Main article: Delimitation Commission of India

The 2011 election adopted re-drawn electoral constituencies based on the 2001 census, following the 2002 Delimitation Commission of India, whose recommendations were approved in February 2008.

Polling schedule

Further information: List of constituencies of the West Bengal Vidhan Sabha

Phases of the election across the state

Chief Election Commissioner of India S. Y. Quraishi announced that polling in West Bengal will be spread over six phases between 18 April and 10 May for the constituencies of the West Bengal Vidhan Sabha.

	Date	No of assembly constituencies
Phase I	18 April	54
Phase II	22 April	50
Phase III	27 April	75
Phase IV	3 May	63
Phase V	7 May	38
Phase VI	10 May	14
Counting	13 May	294
Source: Election Commission of India

Phase I

54 constituencies went to the polls:
Mekliganj (SC), Mathabhanga (SC), Coochbehar Uttar (SC), Coochbehar Dakshin, Sitalkuchi (SC), Sitai (SC), Dinhata, Natabari, Tufangunj, Kumargram (ST), Kalchini (ST), Alipurduars, Falakata (SC), Madarihat (ST), Dhupguri (SC), Mayanaguri (SC), Jalpaiguri (SC), Rajganj (SC), Dabgram-Fulbari, Mal (ST), Nagrakata (ST), Kalimpong, Darjeeling, Kurseong, Matigara-Naxalbari (SC), Siliguri, Phansidewa (ST), Chopra, Islampur, Goalpokhar, Chakulia, Karandighi, Hemtabad (SC), Kaliaganj (SC), Raiganj, Itahar, Kushmandi (SC), Kumarganj, Balurghat, Tapan (ST), Gangarampur (SC), Harirampur, Habibpur (ST), Gazole (SC), Chanchal, Harishchandrapur, Malatipur, Ratua, Manikchak, Maldaha (SC), English Bazar, Mothabari, Sujapur, and Baisnabnagar.

Phase II

50 constituencies went to the polls:
Farakka, Samserganj, Suti, Jangipur, Raghunathganj, Sagardighi, Lalgola, Bhagaban Gola, Raninagar, Murshidabad, Nabagram (SC), Khargram (SC), Burwan (SC), Kandi, Bharatpur, Rejinagar, Beldanga, Baharampur, Hariharpara, Naoda, Domkal, Jalangi, Karimpur, Tehatta, Palashipara, Kaliganj, Nakashipara, Chapra, Krishnanagar Uttar, Nabadwip, Krishnanagar Dakshin, Santipur, Ranaghat Uttar Paschim, Krishnaganj (SC), Ranaghat Uttar Purba (SC), Ranaghat Dakshin (SC), Chakdah, Kalyani (SC), Haringhata (SC), Dubrajpur (SC), Suri, Bolpur, Nanoor (SC), Labpur, Sainthia (SC), Mayureswar, Rampurhat, Hansan, Nalhati, and Murarai.

Phase III

75 constituencies went to the polls:
Bagdah (SC), Bongaon Uttar (SC), Bongaon Dakshin (SC), Gaighata (SC), Swarupnagar (SC), Baduria, Habra, Ashoknagar, Amdanga, Bijpur, Naihati, Bhatpara, Jagatdal, Noapara, Barrackpur, Khardaha, Dum Dum Uttar, Panihati, Kamarhati, Baranagar, Dum Dum, Rajarhat New Town, Bidhan Nagar, Rajarhat Gopalpur, Madhyamgram, Barasat, Deganga, Haroa, Minakhan (SC), Sandeshkhali (ST), Basirhat Dakshin, Basirhat Uttar, Hingalganj (SC), Gosaba (SC), Basanti (SC), Kultali (SC), Patharpratima, Kakdwip, Sagar, Kulpi, Raidighi, Mandirbazar (SC), Jaynagar (SC), Baruipur Purba (SC), Canning Paschim (SC), Canning Purba, Baruipur Paschim, Magrahat Purba (SC), Magrahat Paschim, Diamond Harbour, Falta, Satgachia, Bishnupur (SC), Sonarpur Dakshin, Bhangore, Kasba, Jadavpur, Sonarpur Uttar, Tollygunj, Behala Purba, Behala Paschim, Maheshtala, Budge Budge, Metiabruz, Kokata Port, Bhabanipore, Rashbehari, Ballygunge, Chowrangee, Entally, Beleghata, Jorasanko, Shyampukur, Maniktala, and Kashipur-Belgachia.

Phase IV

63 constituencies went to the polls:
Bally, Howrah Uttar, Howrah Madhya, Shibpur, Howrah Dakshin, Sankrail (SC), Panchla, Uluberia Purba, Uluberia Uttar (SC), Uluberia Dakshin, Shyampur, Bagnan, Amta, Udaynarayanpur, Jagatballavpur, Domjur, Uttarpara, Sreerampur, Champdani, Singur, Chandannagore, Chunchura, Balagarh (SC), Pandua, Saptagram, Chanditala, Jangipara, Haripal, Dhanekhali (SC), Tarakeswar, Pursurah, Arambag (SC), Goghat (SC), Khanakul, Tamluk, Panskura Purba, Panskura Paschim, Moyna, Nandakumar, Mahisadal, Haldia (SC), Nandigram, Chandipur, Patashpur, Kanthi Uttar, Bhagabanpur, Khejuri (SC), Kanthi Dakshin, Ramnagar, Egra, Bardhaman Dakshin, Jamalpur (SC), Monteswar, Kalna (SC), Memari, Bardhaman Uttar (SC), Bhatar, Purbasthali Dakshin, Purbasthali Uttar, Katwa, Ketugram, Mangalkot and Ausgram (SC)

Phase V

38 constituencies went to the polls:
Dantan, Keshiary (ST), Kharagpur Sadar, Narayangarh, Sabang, Pingla, Kharagpur, Debra, Daspur, Ghatal (SC), Chandrakona (SC), Keshpur (SC), Purulia, Manbazar (ST), Kashipur, Para (SC), Raghunathpur (SC), Saltora (SC), Chhatnam, Bankura, Barjora, Onda, Bishnupur, Katulpur (SC), Indus (SC), Sonamukhi (SC), Khandaghosh (SC), Raina (SC), Galsi (SC), Pandabeswar, Durgapur Purba, Durgapur Paschim, Raniganj, Jamuria, Asansol Dakshin, Asansol Uttar, Kulti and Barabani.

Phase VI

14 constituencies went to the polls:
Nayagram (ST), Gopiballavpur, Jhargram, Garbeta, Salboni, Medinipur, Binpur (ST), Bandwan (ST), Balarampur, Baghmundi, Joypur, Ranibandh (ST), Raipur (ST) and Taldangra.

Parties

AITC-Congress alliance

• All India Trinamool Congress (AITC)
• Indian National Congress (INC)
• Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)
• Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) (SUCI(C))
• Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF)
• Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)
• Party of Democratic Socialism (India) (PDS)

Left Front (LF)

• Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM)
• Communist Party of India (CPI)
• Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP)
• All India Forward Bloc (AIFB)
• Revolutionary Communist Party of India (RCPI)
• Marxist Forward Bloc (MFB)
• Samajwadi Party (SP)
• Democratic Socialist Party (DSP(PC))

National Democratic Alliance

• Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
• Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM)

Alliance wise result

LF+	SEATS	AITC-Congress alliance	SEATS	NDA+	SEATS	OTHERS	SEATS
CPIM	40-2 (by-polls)	AITC	184+6 (by-polls)	BJP	0+1 (by-polls)	IND	0
AIFB	11-1 (by-polls)	INC	42-3 (by-polls)	GJM	3
RSP	7-1 (by-polls)	SUCI(C)	1
CPI	2	IND/(INC)	1
SP	1	NCP	0
DSP(PC)	1	GNLF	0
MFB	0	JMM	0
RCPI	0	PDS	0
RJD	0	JKP(N)	0
TOTAL (2011)	62	TOTAL (2011)	228	TOTAL (2011)	3	TOTAL (2011)	0
TOTAL (2006)	233	TOTAL (2006)	30	TOTAL (2006)	24	TOTAL (2006)	6

Campaign

Mamata Banerjee ended her campaign on 9 May in the constituency of the incumbent CM Bhattacharjee in Jadavpur a day after Bhattacharjee appealed to the electorate there to return him to power. Before campaigning ended at 17:00, she appealed to the electorate to "Help me bring about change."

Land reform

Following the general election, with the TMC being an important part of the central government's coalition, the central government eased its controversial land acquisition policy for Special Economic Zones. Part of the proposal was that the government would not get involved in land acquisition for private organizations. One official from the central ruling coalition was quoted as saying that "There is a tacit understanding between these two critical allies that there will be no decision on the Land Acquisition Bill until the results of West Bengal state elections are clear." The issue of land acquisition for development also created a battle zone like situation in the villages between armed cadres of the ruling CPM and the Maoists.

Gorkhaland

During the general election the issue of the founding of Gorkhaland as separate from West Bengal gained prominence along with the victory of Jaswant Singh from Darjeeling constituency for the Bharatiya Janata Party, and supported by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (which advocates the creation of a separate Gorkhaland for ethnic Nepalis as opposed to ethnic Bengalis).

Since the election the issue again cropped up as demands for a separate Telangana being bifurcated from Andhra Pradesh grew. During this election CM Bhattacharjee said that Gorkhaland should not be separated but instead an additional development of the region should occur. He said in Lichupokhri that those advocating the separation should "stop your movement for a Gorkhaland. It will never be fulfilled. Concentrate on the all-round development of Darjeeling as it is the only solution to the issue."

Election

On 17 April, the Election Commission of India issued an appeal for all registered voters to turn out for their respective electoral dates.

A female voter casting her vote at a polling station, in Abadanga, Birbhum district, during the Assembly Election in West Bengal on April 23, 2011

A Polling Officer checking the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM's) and other necessary inputs required in the West Bengal Assembly Election, before the distribution of machines, at Bolpur Govt. High School on April 22, 2011

During the first phase, the Indian border with Bangladesh at the Maldaha constituency was sealed from 16 April, two days before the election, to "prevent miscreants from causing trouble." One-hundred and twelve companies of central paramilitary forces were delegated to man 260 voting booths, 150 of which were decreed to be "sensitive." The district magistrate Rajesh Kumar Sinha also said that 50 booths would be put under round-the-clock online surveillance.

Seven Bengali film stars and theatre personalities won seats with the TMC ticket.

Exit polls

Party	Seats Contested	Star News-Nielsen	CNN-IBN-Week
AITC & INC Alliance	294	225	222-234
Left Front	294	34	60-72
Bharatiya Janata Party	294	2	2
Independent/Others	-	33	10-2
Total	294
Source: a

Results

Party	Seats contested	Seats won	Seat change	Vote share	Swing
Trinamool Congress	226	184	154	38.93%	12.29%
Communist Party of India (Marxist)	213	40	136	30.08%	7.05%
Indian National Congress	66	42	21	9.09%	5.62%
All India Forward Bloc	34	11	12	4.80%	0.86%
Revolutionary Socialist Party (India)	23	7	13	2.96%	0.75%
Gorkha Janmukti Morcha	3	3	3	0.72%	New
Communist Party of India	14	2	6	1.84	0.07%
Samajwadi Party	5	1	1	0.74%	0.03%
Socialist Unity Centre of India (C)	30	1	1	0.44%
Democratic Socialist Party	2	1		0.35%	0.01%
Independents		2	4	3.13%	1.09%
Bharatiya Janata Party	289	0		4.06%	2.13%
Trinamool and allies		227	192
Left Front		62	168
Total		294
Turnout:
Source: Election Commission of India

Key:
	Left Front
	United Progressive Alliance
	National Democratic Alliance
	Independent

Results of the 2011 West Bengal state assembly election (by constituency)

AC #	Assembly Constituency Name	Reserved for	District	Winner	No. of Votes	% of Votes	Party
1	Mekliganj	Scheduled Caste	Cooch Behar	Paresh Chandra Adhikari	72,040	48.88%		All India Forward Bloc
2	Mathabhanga	Scheduled Caste		Binay Krishna Barman	78,249	46.45%		All India Trinamool Congress
3	Cooch Behar Uttar	Scheduled Caste		Nagendra Nath Roy	84,825	45.11%		All India Forward Bloc
4	Cooch Behar Dakshin	N/A		Akshay Thakur	72,028	47.04%		All India Forward Bloc
5	Sitalkuchi	Scheduled Caste		Hiten Barman	84,651	44.21%		All India Trinamool Congress
6	Sitai	Scheduled Caste		Keshab Chandra Ray	79,791	46.67%		Indian National Congress
7	Dinhata	N/A		Udayan Guha	93,050	50.52%		All India Forward Bloc
8	Natabari	N/A		Rabindra Nath Ghosh	81,951	47.56%		All India Trinamool Congress
9	Tufanganj	N/A		Arghya Roy Pradhan	73,721	45.01%		All India Trinamool Congress
10	Kumargram	Scheduled Tribe	Jalpaiguri	Dasrath Tirkey	71,545	40.84%		Revolutionary Socialist Party
11	Kalchini	Scheduled Tribe		Wilson Champramary	46,455	30.05%		Independent
12	Alipurduars	N/A		Debaprasad Roy	79,605	46.02%		Indian National Congress
13	Falakata	Scheduled Caste		Anil Adhikari	77,821	47.44%		All India Trinamool Congress
14	Madarihat	Scheduled Tribe		Kumari Kujur	42,539	31.93%		Revolutionary Socialist Party
15	Dhupguri	Scheduled Caste		Mamata Roy	73,644	42.25%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
16	Maynaguri	Scheduled Caste		Ananta Deb Adhikari	84,887	48.70%		Revolutionary Socialist Party
17	Jalpaiguri	Scheduled Caste		Sukhbilas Barma	86,273	48.64%		Indian National Congress
18	Rajganj	Scheduled Caste		Khageshwar Roy	74,546	46.63%		All India Trinamool Congress
19	Dabgram-Phulbari	N/A		Goutam Deb	84,649	48.28%		All India Trinamool Congress
20	Mal	Scheduled Tribe		Bulu Chik Baraik	62,037	39.68%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
21	Nagrakata	Scheduled Tribe		Joseph Munda	46,537	30.26%		Indian National Congress
22	Kalimpong	N/A	Darjeeling	Harka Bahadur Chettri	109,102	87.36%		Gorkha Janmukti Morcha
23	Darjeeling	N/A		Trilok Dewan	120,532	78.51%		Gorkha Janmukti Morcha
24	Kurseong	N/A		Rohit Sharma	114,297	74.00%		Gorkha Janmukti Morcha
25	Matigara-Naxalbari	Scheduled Caste		Sankar Malakar	74,334	45.19%		Indian National Congress
26	Siliguri	N/A		Rudra Nath Bhattacharya	72,019	48.07%		All India Trinamool Congress
27	Phansidewa	Scheduled Tribe		Sunil Chandra Tirkey	61,388	42.55%		Indian National Congress
28	Chopra	N/A	Uttar Dinajpur	Hamidul Rahaman	64,289	44.61%		Independent
29	Islampur	N/A		Abdul Karim Chowdhary	49,326	41.48%		All India Trinamool Congress
30	Goalpokhar	N/A		Ghulam Rabbani	61,313	49.05%		Indian National Congress
31	Chakulia	N/A		Ali Imran Ramz	65,265	52.12%		All India Forward Bloc
32	Karandighi	N/A		Gokul Roy	57,023	38.56%		All India Forward Bloc
33	Hemtabad	Scheduled Caste		Khagendra Nath Sinha	71,553	45.50%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
34	Kaliaganj	Scheduled Caste		Pramatha Nath Ray	84,873	47.59%		Indian National Congress
35	Raiganj	N/A		Mohit Sengupta	62,864	49.69%		Indian National Congress
36	Itahar	N/A		Amal Acharjee	61,707	43.95%		All India Trinamool Congress
37	Kushmandi	Scheduled Caste	Dakshin Dinajpur	Narmada Chandra Roy	66,368	47.42%		Revolutionary Socialist Party
38	Kumarganj	N/A		Begam Mahamuda	62,212	46.93%		All India Trinamool Congress
39	Balurghat	N/A		Shankar Chakraborty	67,495	54.27%		All India Trinamool Congress
40	Tapan	Scheduled Tribe		Bachchu Hansda	72,643	51.61%		All India Trinamool Congress
41	Gangarampur	Scheduled Caste		Satyendra Nath Roy	65,666	45.85%		All India Trinamool Congress
42	Harirampur	N/A		Biplab Mitra	65,099	47.44%		All India Trinamool Congress
43	Habibpur	Scheduled Tribe	Malda	Khagen Murmu	59,286	37.60%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
44	Gazole	Scheduled Caste		Sushil Chandra Ray	74,654	46.09%		Indian National Congress
45	Chanchal	N/A		Asif Mehbub	68,586	48.69%		Indian National Congress
46	Harishchandrapur	N/A		Tajmul Hossain	62,019	46.19%		All India Forward Bloc
47	Malatipur	N/A		Abdur Rahim Boxi	54,794	43.44%		Revolutionary Socialist Party
48	Ratua	N/A		Samar Mukherjee	74,936	48.34%		Indian National Congress
49	Manikchak	N/A		Sabitri Mitra	64,641	46.19%		All India Trinamool Congress
50	Maldaha	Scheduled Caste		Bhupendra Nath Halder	68,155	46.55%		Indian National Congress
51	English Bazar	N/A		Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury	89,421	51.78%		Indian National Congress
52	Mothabari	N/A		Sabina Yasmin	47,466	44.11%		Indian National Congress
53	Sujapur	N/A		Abu Nasar Khan Choudhury	70,640	52.75%		Indian National Congress
54	Baisnabnagar	N/A		Isha Khan Choudhury	62,589	43.01%		Indian National Congress
55	Farakka	N/A	Murshidabad	Mainul Haque	52,780	38.77%		Indian National Congress
56	Samserganj	N/A		Touab Ali	61,138	46.43%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
57	Suti	N/A		Emani Biswas	73,465	48.86%		Indian National Congress
58	Jangipur	N/A		Mohammed Sohrab	68,699	46.76%		Indian National Congress
59	Raghunathganj	N/A		Akhruzzaman	74,683	50.98%		Indian National Congress
60	Sagardighi	N/A		Subrata Saha	54,708	38.83%		Indian National Congress
61	Lalgola	N/A		Abu Hena	74,317	51.96%		Indian National Congress
62	Bhagabangola	N/A		Chand Mohammad	62,862	38.62%		Samajwadi Party
63	Raninagar	N/A		Firoza Begam	76,092	46.45%		Indian National Congress
64	Murshidabad	N/A		Shaoni Singha Roy	75,441	46.03%		Indian National Congress
65	Nabagram	Scheduled Caste		Kanai Chandra Mondal	78,703	48.97%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
66	Khargram	Scheduled Caste		Ashis Marjit	74,093	49.96%		Indian National Congress
67	Burwan	Scheduled Caste		Protima Rajak	66,034	47.09%		Indian National Congress
68	Kandi	N/A		Apurba Sarkar	66,513	44.74%		Indian National Congress
69	Bharatpur	N/A		Id Mohammed	70,658	47.78%		Revolutionary Socialist Party
70	Rejinagar	N/A		Humayun Kabir	77,542	49.74%		Indian National Congress
71	Beldanga	N/A		Safiujjaman Seikh	67,888	45.31%		Indian National Congress
72	Baharampur	N/A		Manoj Chakraborty	91,578	54.89%		Indian National Congress
73	Hariharpara	N/A		Insar Ali Biswas	58,293	35.56%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
74	Naoda	N/A		Abu Taher Khan	80,758	51.59%		Indian National Congress
75	Domkal	N/A		Anisur Rahaman	81,812	47.22%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
76	Jalangi	N/A		Abdur Razzak	85,144	49.55%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
77	Karimpur	N/A	Nadia	Samarendranath Ghosh	82,244	46.17%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
78	Tehatta	N/A		Ranjit Kumar Mandal	75,445	42.78%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
79	Palashipara	N/A		S. M. Sadi	73,619	46.12%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
80	Kaliganj	N/A		Nasheruddin Ahamed	74,091	47.32%		All India Trinamool Congress
81	Nakshipara	N/A		Kallol Khan	79,644	48.63%		All India Trinamool Congress
82	Chapra	N/A		Rukbanur Rahaman	77,435	47.14%		All India Trinamool Congress
83	Krishnanagar Uttar	N/A		Abani Mohan Joardar	96,677	56.69%		All India Trinamool Congress
84	Nabadwip	N/A		Pundarikakshya Saha	94,117	53.45%		All India Trinamool Congress
85	Krishnanagar Dakshin	N/A		Ujjal Biswas	71,392	46.37%		All India Trinamool Congress
86	Santipur	N/A		Ajoy Dey	98,902	57.77%		Indian National Congress
87	Ranaghat Uttar Paschim	N/A		Partha Sarthi Chatterjee	101,395	54.41%		All India Trinamool Congress
88	Krishnaganj	Scheduled Caste		Sushil Biswas	96,550	52.16%		All India Trinamool Congress
89	Ranaghat Uttar Purba	Scheduled Caste		Samir Poddar	93,836	55.03%		All India Trinamool Congress
90	Ranaghat Dakshin	Scheduled Caste		Abir Ranjan Biswas	99,432	51.23%		All India Trinamool Congress
91	Chakdaha	N/A		Naresh Chandra Chaki	88,771	51.19%		All India Trinamool Congress
92	Kalyani	Scheduled Caste		Ramendranath Biswas	92,322	51.54%		All India Trinamool Congress
93	Haringhata	Scheduled Caste		Nilima Nag	83,366	49.45%		All India Trinamool Congress
94	Bagda	Scheduled Caste	North 24 Parganas	Upendra Nath Biswas	91,821	52.91%		All India Trinamool Congress
95	Bangaon Uttar	Scheduled Caste		Biswajit Das	89,265	54.54%		All India Trinamool Congress
96	Bangaon Dakshin	Scheduled Caste		Surajit Biswas	87,677	53.71%		All India Trinamool Congress
97	Gaighata	Scheduled Caste		Majulkrishna Thakur	91,487	55.58%		All India Trinamool Congress
98	Swarupnagar	Scheduled Caste		Bina Mondal	83,641	48.94%		All India Trinamool Congress
99	Baduria	N/A		Abdul Gaffar Quazi	89,952	53.16%		Indian National Congress
100	Habra	N/A		Jyotipriya Mallick	86,218	55.00%		All India Trinamool Congress
101	Ashoknagar	N/A		Dhiman Roy	94,451	55.38%		All India Trinamool Congress
102	Amdanga	N/A		Rafiquer Rahaman	87,162	53.78%		All India Trinamool Congress
103	Bijpur	N/A		Subhranshu Roy	65,479	51.48%		All India Trinamool Congress
104	Naihati	N/A		Partha Bhowmick	75,482	57.39%		All India Trinamool Congress
105	Bhatpara	N/A		Arjun Singh	66,938	70.94%		All India Trinamool Congress
106	Jagatdal	N/A		Parash Dutta	86,388	58.80%		All India Trinamool Congress
107	Noapara	N/A		Manju Bose	100,369	59.03%		All India Trinamool Congress
108	Barrackpur	N/A		Silbhadra Dutta	79,515	60.02%		All India Trinamool Congress
109	Khardaha	N/A		Amit Mitra	83,608	56.48%		All India Trinamool Congress
110	Dum Dum Uttar	N/A		Chandrima Bhattacharjee	94,676	53.42%		All India Trinamool Congress
111	Panihati	N/A		Nirmal Ghosh	88,334	58.33%		All India Trinamool Congress
112	Kamarhati	N/A		Madan Mitra	74,112	57.96%		All India Trinamool Congress
113	Baranagar	N/A		Tapas Roy	89,883	60.57%		All India Trinamool Congress
114	Dum Dum	N/A		Bratya Bose	92,635	57.50%		All India Trinamool Congress
115	Rajarhat New Town	N/A		Sabyasachi Dutta	80,738	49.22%		All India Trinamool Congress
116	Bidhannagar	N/A		Sujit Bose	88,642	59.52%		All India Trinamool Congress
117	Rajarhat Gopalpur	N/A		Purnendu Bose	89,829	59.75%		All India Trinamool Congress
118	Madhyamgram	N/A		Rathin Ghosh	99,841	57.18%		All India Trinamool Congress
119	Barasat	N/A		Chiranjit Chakraborty	103,954	58.28%		All India Trinamool Congress
120	Deganga	N/A		Narujjaman	78,395	49.39%		All India Trinamool Congress
121	Haroa	N/A		Julfiquer Molla	76,627	45.69%		All India Trinamool Congress
122	Minakhan	Scheduled Caste		Usha Rani Mondal	73,533	48.66%		All India Trinamool Congress
123	Sandeshkhali	Scheduled Tribe		Nirapada Sardar	66,815	43.20%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
124	Basirhat Dakshin	N/A		Narayan Mukherjee	NA	NA		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
125	Basirhat Uttar	N/A		Mostafa Bin Quasem	75,575	45.18%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
126	Hingalganj	Scheduled Caste		Anandamay Mondal	72,741	45.75%		Communist Party of India
127	Gosaba	Scheduled Caste	South 24 Parganas	Jayanta Naskar	78,840	51.00%		All India Trinamool Congress
128	Basanti	Scheduled Caste		Subhas Naskar	72,871	49.06%		Revolutionary Socialist Party
129	Kultali	Scheduled Caste		Ramsankar Halder	81,297	48.60%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
130	Patharpratima	N/A		Samir Jana	95,422	52.38%		All India Trinamool Congress
131	Kakdwip	N/A		Manturam Pakhira	84,483	51.46%		All India Trinamool Congress
132	Sagar	N/A		Bankim Hazra	94,264	50.38%		All India Trinamool Congress
133	Kulpi	N/A		Jogaranjan Haldar	76,693	53.75%		All India Trinamool Congress
134	Raidighi	N/A		Deboshri Roy	93,236	49.76%		All India Trinamool Congress
135	Mandirbazar	Scheduled Caste		Joydeb Haldar	83,524	53.64%		All India Trinamool Congress
136	Jaynagar	Scheduled Caste		Tarun Kanti Naskar	71,566	49.37%		Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist)
137	Baruipur Purba	Scheduled Caste		Nirmal Mondal	83,636	52.19%		All India Trinamool Congress
138	Canning Paschim	Scheduled Caste		Shymal Mondal	81,736	53.35%		All India Trinamool Congress
139	Canning Purba	N/A		Abdur Razzak Molla	85,105	54.30%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
140	Baruipur Paschim	N/A		Biman Banerjee	88,187	57.54%		All India Trinamool Congress
141	Magrahat Purba	Scheduled Caste		Namita Saha	75,217	49.68%		All India Trinamool Congress
142	Magrahat Paschim	N/A		Giyasuddin Mollah	66,878	47.11%		All India Trinamool Congress
143	Diamond Harbour	N/A		Dipak Haldar	87,645	53.37%		All India Trinamool Congress
144	Falta	N/A		Tomonash Ghosh	86,966	55.61%		All India Trinamool Congress
145	Satgachhia	N/A		Sonali Guha	93,902	51.17%		All India Trinamool Congress
146	Bishnupur	Scheduled Caste		Dilip Mondal	95,912	53.91%		All India Trinamool Congress
147	Sonarpur Dakshin	N/A		Jiban Mukherjee	100,243	59.03%		All India Trinamool Congress
148	Bhangar	N/A		Badal Jamadar	81,965	47.32%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
149	Kasba	N/A		Javed Khan	92,460	53.80%		All India Trinamool Congress
150	Jadavpur	N/A		Manish Gupta	103,972	52.64%		All India Trinamool Congress
151	Sonarpur Uttar	N/A		Firdoshi Begum	89,841	55.40%		All India Trinamool Congress
152	Tollyganj	N/A		Aroop Biswas	102,743	56.16%		All India Trinamool Congress
153	Behala Purba	N/A		Sovan Chatterjee	116,709	60.27%		All India Trinamool Congress
154	Behala Paschim	N/A		Partha Chatterjee	127,870	62.95%		All India Trinamool Congress
155	Maheshtala	N/A		Kasturi Das	92,211	52.49%		All India Trinamool Congress
156	Budge Budge	N/A		Ashok Deb	99,915	60.04%		All India Trinamool Congress
157	Metiaburuz	N/A		Mumtaz Begum	55,003	41.55%		All India Trinamool Congress
158	Kolkata Port	N/A	Kolkata	Firad Hakim	63,866	48.63%		All India Trinamool Congress
159	Bhabanipur	N/A		Subrata Bakshi	87,903	64.76%		All India Trinamool Congress
160	Rashbehari	N/A		Sovandeb Chattopadhyay	88,892	65.55%		All India Trinamool Congress
161	Ballygunge	N/A		Subrata Mukherjee	88,194	60.65%		All India Trinamool Congress
162	Chowrangee	N/A		Sikha Mitra	79,450	71.89%		All India Trinamool Congress
163	Entally	N/A		Swarna Kamal Saha	75,891	56.23%		All India Trinamool Congress
164	Beleghata	N/A		Paresh Pal	93,185	57.45%		All India Trinamool Congress
165	Jorasanko	N/A		Smita Baksi	57,970	51.11%		All India Trinamool Congress
166	Shyampukur	N/A		Sashi Panja	72,904	57.96%		All India Trinamool Congress
167	Maniktala	N/A		Sadhan Pande	89,039	60.05%		All India Trinamool Congress
168	Kashipur-Belgachhia	N/A		Mala Saha	87,408	61.67%		All India Trinamool Congress
169	Bally	N/A	Howrah	Sultan Singh	52,770	50.41%		All India Trinamool Congress
170	Howrah Uttar	N/A		Ashok Ghosh	61,466	49.25%		All India Trinamool Congress
171	Howrah Madhya	N/A		Aroop Roy	103,184	62.06%		All India Trinamool Congress
172	Shibpur	N/A		Jatu Lahiri	100,739	61.83%		All India Trinamool Congress
173	Howrah Dakshin	N/A		Broja Mohan Majumdar	101,066	56.06%		All India Trinamool Congress
174	Sankrail	Scheduled Caste		Sital Sardar	88,029	51.21%		All India Trinamool Congress
175	Panchla	N/A		Gulsan Mallick	76,628	45.76%		All India Trinamool Congress
176	Uluberia Purba	N/A		Haider Aziz Safwi	68,975	46.47%		All India Trinamool Congress
177	Uluberia Uttar	Scheduled Caste		Nirmal Maji	76,469	52.44%		All India Trinamool Congress
178	Uluberia Dakshin	N/A		Pulak Roy	73,734	49.47%		All India Trinamool Congress
179	Shyampur	N/A		Kalipada Mondal	99,501	56.64%		All India Trinamool Congress
180	Bagnan	N/A		Raja Sen	82,730	53.55%		All India Trinamool Congress
181	Amta	N/A		Asit Mishra	88,264	51.81%		Indian National Congress
182	Udaynarayanpur	N/A		Samir Panja	91,879	55.10%		All India Trinamool Congress
183	Jagatballavpur	N/A		Abul Kasem Molla	102,580	54.18%		All India Trinamool Congress
184	Domjur	N/A		Rajib Banerjee	101,042	54.06%		All India Trinamool Congress
185	Uttarpara	N/A	Hooghly	Anup Ghosal	104,753	59.76%		All India Trinamool Congress
186	Sreerampur	N/A		Sudipto Roy	97,450	63.82%		All India Trinamool Congress
187	Champdani	N/A		Muzzafar Khan	92,476	57.16%		All India Trinamool Congress
188	Singur	N/A		Rabindranath Bhattacharya	100,869	57.61%		All India Trinamool Congress
189	Chandannagar	N/A		Ashok Shaw	96,430	60.75%		All India Trinamool Congress
190	Chunchura	N/A		Tapan Majumdar	127,206	56.89%		All India Trinamool Congress
191	Balagarh	Scheduled Caste		Asim Majhi	96,254	52.34%		All India Trinamool Congress
192	Pandua	N/A		Amzad Hossain	84,830	46.64%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
193	Saptagram	N/A		Tapan Dasgupta	90,289	56.50%		All India Trinamool Congress
194	Chanditala	N/A		Swati Khandekar	86,394	52.45%		All India Trinamool Congress
195	Jangipara	N/A		Snehasish Chakraborty	87,133	50.53%		All India Trinamool Congress
196	Haripal	N/A		Bacharam Manna	98,146	53.69%		All India Trinamool Congress
197	Dhanekhali	Scheduled Caste		Asima Patra	100,529	51.17%		All India Trinamool Congress
198	Tarakeswar	N/A		Rachhpal Singh	97,022	55.10%		All India Trinamool Congress
199	Pursurah	N/A		Parvez Rahman	107,794	56.25%		All India Trinamool Congress
200	Arambag	Scheduled Caste		Krishna Santra	98,011	53.36%		All India Trinamool Congress
201	Goghat	Scheduled Caste		Biswanath Karak	86,514	49.03%		All India Forward Bloc
202	Khanakul	N/A		Iqbal Ahmed	102,450	55.56%		All India Trinamool Congress
203	Tamluk	N/A	Purba Medinipur	Somen Mahapatra	99,765	52.82%		All India Trinamool Congress
204	Panskura Purba	N/A		Biplab Roy Chowdhury	82,957	50.71%		All India Trinamool Congress
205	Panskura Paschim	N/A		Omar Ali	93,349	49.97%		All India Trinamool Congress
206	Moyna	N/A		Bhusan Daloi	91,038	50.94%		All India Trinamool Congress
207	Nandakumar	N/A		Sukumar Dey	89,717	50.93%		All India Trinamool Congress
208	Mahisadal	N/A		Sudarshan Ghosh Dastidar	95,640	55.28%		All India Trinamool Congress
209	Haldia	Scheduled Caste		Seuli Saha	89,573	51.34%		All India Trinamool Congress
210	Nandigram	N/A		Firoza Bibi	103,300	60.17%		All India Trinamool Congress
211	Chandipur	N/A		Amiya Bhattacharjee	88,010	50.80%		All India Trinamool Congress
212	Patashpur	N/A		Jyotirmoy Kar	84,452	49.92%		All India Trinamool Congress
213	Kanthi Uttar	N/A		Banasri Maity	91,528	49.77%		All India Trinamool Congress
214	Bhagabanpur	N/A		Ardhendhu Maity	93,845	51.15%		All India Trinamool Congress
215	Khejuri	Scheduled Caste		Ranjit Mondal	87,833	53.11%		All India Trinamool Congress
216	Kanthi Dakshin	N/A		Dibendhu Adhikari	86,933	57.12%		All India Trinamool Congress
217	Ramnagar	N/A		Akhil Giri	93,801	52.55%		All India Trinamool Congress
218	Egra	N/A		Samaresh Das	99,178	51.56%		All India Trinamool Congress
219	Dantan	N/A	Paschim Medinipur	Arun Mahapatra	79,118	49.35%		Communist Party of India
220	Nayagram	Scheduled Tribe		Dulal Murmu	75,656	50.34%		All India Trinamool Congress
221	Gopiballavpur	N/A		Churamani Mahato	90,070	56.70%		All India Trinamool Congress
222	Jhargram	N/A		Sukumar Hansda	69,464	44.66%		All India Trinamool Congress
223	Keshiary	Scheduled Tribe		Biram Mandi	76,976	45.97%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
224	Kharagpur Sadar	N/A		Gyan Singh Sohanpal	75,425	55.05%		Indian National Congress
225	Narayangarh	N/A		Suryakanta Mishra	89,804	50.49%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
226	Sabang	N/A		Manas Bhunia	98,755	51.25%		Indian National Congress
227	Pingla	N/A		Prabodh Chandra Sinha	84,738	47.24%		Democratic Socialist Party (Prabodh Chandra)
228	Kharagpur	N/A		Nazmul Haque	70,178	46.77%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
229	Debra	N/A		Radhakanta Maity	86,215	50.57%		All India Trinamool Congress
230	Daspur	N/A		Ajit Bhunia	109,048	54.76%		All India Trinamool Congress
231	Ghatal	Scheduled Caste		Sankar Dolui	101,355	52.24%		All India Trinamool Congress
232	Chandrakona	Scheduled Caste		Chhaya Dolui	97,280	48.39%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
232	Garbeta	N/A		Sushanta Ghosh	86,047	52.22%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
234	Salboni	N/A		Srikanta Mahato	92,082	47.36%		All India Trinamool Congress
235	Keshpur	Scheduled Caste		Rameswar Dolui	103,901	57.57%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
236	Medinipur	Scheduled Caste		Mrigen Maity	103,060	54.42%		All India Trinamool Congress
237	Binpur	Scheduled Tribe		Dibakar Hansda	60,728	41.16%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
238	Bandwan	Scheduled Tribe	Purulia	Susanta Besra	87,183	48.38%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
239	Balarampur	N/A		Santiram Mahato	65,244	45.79%		All India Trinamool Congress
240	Baghmundi	N/A		Nepal Mahata	77,458	49.47%		Indian National Congress
241	Joypur	N/A		Dhiren Mahato	62,060	41.48%		All India Forward Bloc
242	Purulia	N/A		K. P. Singh Deo	83,396	53.94%		All India Trinamool Congress
243	Manbazar	Scheduled Tribe		Sandhya Tudu	78,520	47.01%		All India Trinamool Congress
244	Kashipur	N/A		Swapan Beltoria	69,492	44.72%		All India Trinamool Congress
245	Para	Scheduled Caste		Umapada Bauri	62,208	42.59%		Indian National Congress
246	Raghunathpur	Scheduled Caste		Purna Chandra Bauri	78,096	48.34%		All India Trinamool Congress
247	Saltora	Scheduled Caste	Bankura	Swapan Bauri	82,597	50.59%		All India Trinamool Congress
248	Chhatna	N/A		Subhasish Batyabal	70,340	45.58%		All India Trinamool Congress
249	Ranibandh	Scheduled Tribe		Debalina Hembram	75,388	44.24%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
250	Raipur	Scheduled Tribe		Upen Kisku	69,008	44.38%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
251	Taldangra	N/A		Monoranjan Patra	74,779	47.58%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
252	Bankura	N/A		Kashinath Mishra	92,835	53.92%		All India Trinamool Congress
253	Barjora	N/A		Ashutosh Mukherjee	84,457	47.68%		All India Trinamool Congress
254	Onda	N/A		Arup Kha	75,699	43.50%		All India Trinamool Congress
255	Bishnupur	N/A		Shyam Mukherjee	77,662	50.29%		All India Trinamool Congress
256	Katulpur	Scheduled Caste		Soumitra Khan	83,355	47.40%		Indian National Congress
257	Indas	Scheduled Caste		Gurupada Mete	85,589	49.05%		All India Trinamool Congress
258	Sonamukhi	Scheduled Caste		Dipali Saha	82,199	49.79%		All India Trinamool Congress
259	Khandaghosh	Scheduled Caste	Bardhaman	Nabin Chandra Bag	94,284	52.11%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
260	Bardhaman Dakshin	N/A		Rabiranjan Chattopadhyay	107,520	57.70%		All India Trinamool Congress
261	Raina	Scheduled Caste		Basudeb Khan	98,897	51.12%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
262	Jamalpur	Scheduled Caste		Ujjal Pramanik	84,434	48.73%		All India Trinamool Congress
263	Manteswar	N/A		Choudhury Hedaetullaha	81,822	47.24%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
264	Kalna	Scheduled Caste		Biswajit Kundu	85,096	49.97%		All India Trinamool Congress
265	Memari	N/A		Abul Hasan Mondal	89,083	48.24%		All India Trinamool Congress
266	Bardhaman Uttar	Scheduled Caste		Aparna Saha	98,182	50.86%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
267	Bhatar	N/A		Banamali Hazra	83,883	47.29%		All India Trinamool Congress
268	Purbasthali Dakshin	N/A		Swapan Debnath	86,039	49.72%		All India Trinamool Congress
269	Purbasthali Uttar	N/A		Tapan Chatterjee	71,107	42.62%		All India Trinamool Congress
270	Katwa	N/A		Rabindranath Chatterjee	97,951	52.52%		Indian National Congress
271	Ketugram	N/A		Sekh Sahonawez	77,323	45.69%		All India Trinamool Congress
272	Mangalkot	N/A		Sajahan Choudhury	81,316	46.22%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
273	Ausgram	Scheduled Caste		Basudeb Mete	90,863	52.20%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
274	Galsi	Scheduled Caste		Sunil Mondal	92,126	50.58%		All India Forward Bloc
275	Pandaveswar	N/A		Gouranga Chatterjee	67,240	49.69%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
276	Durgapur Purba	N/A		Nikhil Banerjee	87,050	50.32%		All India Trinamool Congress
277	Durgapur Paschim	N/A		Apurba Mukherjee	92,454	51.93%		All India Trinamool Congress
278	Raniganj	N/A		Sohrab Ali	73,810	47.83%		All India Trinamool Congress
279	Jamuria	N/A		Jahanara Khan	72,411	52.81%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
280	Asansol Dakshin	N/A		Tapas Banerjee	89,645	55.74%		All India Trinamool Congress
281	Asansol Uttar	N/A		Moloy Ghatak	96,011	62.13%		All India Trinamool Congress
282	Kulti	N/A		Ujjal Chatterjee	77,610	56.09%		All India Trinamool Congress
283	Barabani	N/A		Bidhan Upadhyay	78,628	59.20%		All India Trinamool Congress
284	Dubrajpur	Scheduled Caste	Birbhum	Bejoy Bagdi	75,347	47.66%		All India Forward Bloc
285	Suri	N/A		Swapan Ghosh	88,244	51.56%		All India Trinamool Congress
286	Bolpur	N/A		Chandranath Sinha	89,394	50.50%		All India Trinamool Congress
287	Nanoor	Scheduled Caste		Gadadhar Hazra	91,818	49.21%		All India Trinamool Congress
288	Labpur	N/A		Manirul Islam	78,697	47.67%		All India Trinamool Congress
289	Sainthia	Scheduled Caste		Dhiren Bagdi	77,512	46.90%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
290	Mayureswar	N/A		Asoke Roy	67,478	42.31%		Communist Party of India (Marxist)
291	Rampurhat	N/A		Asish Banerjee	75,066	45.79%		All India Trinamool Congress
292	Hansan	N/A		Asit Mal	73,370	46.72%		Indian National Congress
293	Nalhati	N/A		Abhijit Mukherjee	76,047	49.02%		Indian National Congress
294	Murarai	N/A		Noor Alam Chowdhury	77,817	47.75%		All India Trinamool Congress

Source: Election Commission of India — Assembly Elections — May 2011 — Results

Incumbent Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya later tendered his resignation to Governor M.K. Narayanan.

On 28 May 2015, INC MLA Rabindranath Chatterjee of Katwa announced he joined the AITMC. It is believed he left the INC because he was tied to the murder of Intrajit Singh, an AITMC supporter, who was killed on the day of the local 2015 Katwa election and wanted to be extricated out of the incident. Chatterjee and seven others were named in Singh's murder.

Reactions

Domestic

• TMC's Mamata Banerjee responded to her victory saying "This is a victory of democracy, victory of Maa, Maati, Manush (mother, land and people). There will be end of autocracy and atrocities." (sic) She thanked the INC chief Sonia Gandhi, who sent congratulatory messages, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh: "The Prime Minister sent me a congratulatory message from Afghanistan for our victory. I am overwhelmed. I am grateful to him." She also said that the day marked "Communism [a]s history in Bengal, we have won a decisive victory. This is a day of liberation for our people." She also added that the TMC intended to emphasize a return to "true democracy that has been undermined by the communist politics of control" and that her government would promote what she termed a more "inclusive development that benefits rural and urban poor by balancing allocations between agriculture and industry" while seeking a more "efficient" government "especially in terms of maintaining law and order in what has become a fairly violent state." She said "I will continue to live like a commoner because I don't like a luxury. The support of my people is more important. I am against the Left here but not against Leftism. I share the values of the old Left."
• West Bengal CPIM leader Biman Bose said that "We are down, but not out. We will perform our role in opposition and win back the people's trust...[as in Tripura] where the Communists messed up and people brought us back. That will happen in Bengal. They went out of power in 1988 and came back to power five years later...ruling it until now.""
• On CNN-IBN BJP leader Arun Jaitley and fellow national cabinet member Kapil Sibal congratulated Banerjee for the TMC's victory.

International

• Bangladesh: Fellow Bengali and Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina offered her congratulations to Banerjee. Banerjee told the press that "Sheikh Hasinaji called me and congratulated us on behalf of the people of Bangladesh. I told her our relations have been since the time of Bangabandhu (Mujibur Rahman) and told her that we will work together for betterment. I quoted from Rabindranath Tagore's ‘Amar Sonar Bangla Ami Tomay Bhalobashi’ and told her that both Bangladesh and West Bengal will flourish." (sic)

Media

In the media, she was dubbed as "India's Lech Walesa." Editor Prabhu Chawla said that "Their (Communist) future in Indian politics is in jeopardy. This is an obsolete ideology and will not work here anymore."

Tarun Vijay, the editor of the Organiser Weekly said that "Now Indian politics at the federal level will be more bipolar - with the Congress leading one coalition and the Hindu nationalist BJP leading the other."

Al Jazeera said that the only hope for a Communist resurgence is "if Banerji, whose performance as India's railway minister has not been overly impressive, fails in her position of governance." It also said Banerjee's "austere lifestyle appears closer to the old icons of the Bengal communist movement than their successors who had become corrupted by three decades of power."

Academia

Sabyasachi Basu Roy Choudhury of the Calcutta Research Group said that the election was "the most dramatic reversal of fortunes in Bengal's history...The anti-left mass got a powerful leader in Mamata Banerjee and she started to reach out to the floating voters, issue by issue. That explains why the tide has turned against the communists...Bengal's communism was unique in that it grew among the people not through armed revolution. This was a party that grew by consensus by carrying with them all sections of the middle class, rural and urban poor - even the gentry. But somewhere down the line, the arrogance of power led them to adopt narrow, sectarian politics and that is their undoing now."

Pradip Bose said of the results reasons that: "How could a communist government ask the police to fire on peasants as they did in Nandigram to set up a chemical industry. That has eroded their support amongst the rural poor and Mamata Banerji has gained by leading campaigns against the acquisitions." But according to the latest CBI reports, the then C.M. Buddhadev Bhattacharya was awarded a clean-chit for falsely-held allegations of Nandigram police firing against him and his party. Economist Bibek Debroy said that "The Communists were functioning within the parameters of Indian democracy but they tried to create a party whereby they could control all segments of Bengali society. They are paying dearly for their obsession for control because the fiercely independent Bengali middle class would take it no more." Ranabir Sammadar said that: "Within thirteen years of breaking away from the Congress and forming her Trinmool Congress, she has marginalized the Congress in Bengal as much as the communists now. That's a major achievement." Paula Banerji said of the win that it was a "demonstration of the political power of the Bengali women. Now Banerjee has done 'a Hasina' in our state. (sic) Both the Bengals will now be ruled by women and in Bangladesh, even the main opposition leader is a woman. The communists don't have a female leader of Banerji's stature and unless they find one, they cannot take her on."

Analysis

The election result was read as having a significant impact on the national political scene.

The election marked the defeat of the 34-year rule of the CPI (M) government, thereby marking an end to the world's longest-serving democratically elected communist government.

External links

• West Bangal General Legislative Election Results at the Election Commission of India

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