2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election

2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election

27 March – 29 April 2021 (292 seats)<br>30 September 2021 (2 remaining seats)
294 seats in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly 148 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered	73,414,746<ref>"General Election to the Legislative Assembly of West Bengal, 2021". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 18 February 2026.</ref>
Turnout	82.30% ( 0.72 pp)
Majority party Minority party   Leader Mamata Banerjee Dilip Ghosh Party Trinamool Congress BJP Alliance AITC+ NDA Leader since 1998 2015 Leader's seat Nandigram<br>(lost)<ref name=210Nandigram>"Election Commission of India". results.eci.gov.in. Archived from the original on 3 May 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2021.</ref><br>Bhabanipur<br>(By-elected)<ref name=Constituencywise>"Election Commission of India". results.eci.gov.in. Archived from the original on 3 October 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021.</ref> Did not contest Last election 44.91% votes<br /> 211 seats 10.16% votes <br />3 seats Seats won 215 77 Seat change 4 74 Popular vote 28,968,281 22,905,474 Percentage 48.02% 38.15% Swing 3.11 pp 27.99 pp
Map of the election results
Structure of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly after election
Chief Minister before election Mamata Banerjee Trinamool Congress Chief Minister after election Mamata Banerjee Trinamool Congress

The 2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election was the 17th quinquennial legislative election held in West Bengal, to elect all 294 members of West Bengal Legislative Assembly. This electoral process of 292 seats unfolded between 27 March to 29 April 2021, taking place in eight phases.<ref>"BJP preparing blueprint for 2021 West Bengal polls". The Economic Times. 9 June 2019. Archived from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2019.</ref> Voting for the two remaining constituencies was delayed to 30 September 2021.<ref name=bypoll>"EC announces bypoll schedule for 3 West Bengal seats, relief for Mamata Banerjee". The Times of India. 4 September 2021. Archived from the original on 4 September 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.</ref>

The incumbent Trinamool Congress government led by Mamata Banerjee won the election by a landslide, despite opinion polls generally predicting a close race against the Bharatiya Janata Party, which became the official opposition with 77 seats.<ref name="West Bengal assembly election 2021: Full list of winners">Financial Express (9 December 2022). "West Bengal assembly election 2021: Full list of winners". Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.</ref> For the first time in the history of Bengal, no members from INC and Communist party were elected since independence.<ref>"No Left and Congress MLA in Bengal assembly for the first time". Hindustan Times. 3 May 2021. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2025.</ref><ref>""Don't Want To See Them As Zero": Mamata Banerjee On Left In Bengal". www.ndtv.com. Retrieved 7 February 2025.</ref>

Background

Electoral system

Outlined in Article 168 of the Constitution of India, the West Bengal Legislative Assembly is the only house of the unicameral legislature of West Bengal, not a permanent body, and subject to dissolution.<ref>"Article 168 in The Constitution Of India 1949". Indiankanoon.org. Archived from the original on 18 December 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2020.</ref> The assembly term lasts for five years unless it is dissolved earlier. Members of the Legislative Assembly are directly elected by the people, and the tenure of the Sixteenth West Bengal Legislative Assembly was scheduled to end on 30 May 2021.<ref>"Terms of the Houses". Election Commission of India. Archived from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2021.</ref>

Previous general election

In the 2016 election, the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC or TMC) retained its majority in the Legislative Assembly with 211 seats. The Indian National Congress won 44 seats and the Left Front won 33 seats from their alliance, while the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha won 3 seats each out of the total 294 seats.<ref>"West Bangal General Legislative Election 2016". Election Commission of India. Archived from the original on 15 May 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2019.</ref>

Political developments

Since the by-elections held for the Kanthi South seat in 2017, it became evident that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had overtaken the Left Front as the primary opposition party in the state.<ref name="Romita Datta"/> According to various political analysts, the shifting of the Left Front and other opposition voters towards the BJP caused the party's vote share to significantly increase.<ref>MN, Parth (31 March 2021). "Why ex-communists are joining Modi's BJP in India's West Bengal". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 1 April 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.</ref><ref>Sahay, Mohan (10 March 2021). "View: Left helping BJP by default in West Bengal". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.</ref> In spite of widespread violence, the BJP emerged as the second largest party in the 2018 elections to the state panchayats mainly due to the shifting of the Left Front's voter base. The long-held stereotype of Bengali Hindus being averse to right-wing politics was shattered when the BJP won the 2018 assembly elections in Tripura, another Indian state with a Bengali Hindu majority, ruled till then by CPI(M)-led alliance of Communist parties since 1993.

Results of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal broken down into Vidhan Sabha level

Party		2016 West Bengal Vidhan Sabha election	2016 voteshare	West Bengal Vidhan Sabha segments (as of 2019 India Lok Sabha election)<ref>Lok Sabha results: Numbers point to tough fight ahead in West Bengal assembly polls</ref><ref>"PC and AC wise Result | Chief Electoral Officer - (CEO), West Bengal". Retrieved 4 September 2021.</ref>	2019 voteshare	Change in seats	Change in voteshare (in terms of pp)
	BJP	3	10.16%	121	40.7%	118	30.54
	INC	44	12.25%	9	5.67%	35	6.58
	TMC	211	44.91%	164	43.3%	47	1.61
	LF	32	19.75%	0	6.33%	32	13.42
	Others	1	2.26%	0	NA	1	NA

In the 2019 general elections, the BJP increased its number of Lok Sabha seats from 2 to 18, and took 40% of the vote share, an increase from 11% in the 2016 elections. Trinamool Congress (TMC) was reduced from 34 to 22 seats, Indian National Congress (INC) was reduced from 4 to 2 seats, and for the first time since their individual inceptions, no party from the Left Front (namely CPI(M), CPI, AIFB and RSP) was able to win a single seat from the state.<ref>"Election results 2019 West Bengal: TMC winds 22 seats, faces stiff battle from BJP". India Today. Archived from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2020.</ref> This was the best ever performance of the BJP in the state (where it had never won more than 2 seats) in terms of both seats and voteshare. Public anger towards corruption and hooliganism of a section of TMC cadres in rural areas during the 2018 panchayat elections, religious polarisation by BJP fueled by resentment of a section of Bengali Hindu society towards Mamata Banerjee's tactics of Muslim appeasement,<ref>ভট্টাচার্য, দেবাশিস. "এটা যে অশনি সঙ্কেত, মমতা কি মানবেন?". anandabazar.com (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.</ref> and large scale support of the Rajbongshi and Matua communities for granting Indian citizenship to exclusively non-Muslim Bangladeshi immigrants<ref>মৈত্র, সীমাম্ত. "তৃণমূল থেকে মুখ ফেরাল মতুয়া, বনগাঁয় জয়ী শান্তনু". anandabazar.com (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.</ref> over fears of a demographic change fuelled by infiltration of undocumented Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh, allegedly supported by Mamata Banerjee have been cited as important reasons behind the rise of BJP in West Bengal alongside the decline of Left Front.

With Narendra Modi becoming the only non-Congress prime minister to remain in power for two consecutive terms (amounting to ten years) without depending on the support of the National Democratic Alliance, and the BJP fulfilling the wish of its founder Shyamaprasad Mukherjee by revoking the special status of Jammu and Kashmir<ref>"Ek desh mein do vidhan nahi chalenge: BJP realises founder Shyama Prasad Mukherjee's dream". India Today. 5 August 2019. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.</ref> and long standing promise of resolving the Ayodhya dispute in favour of Hindus, the party considered the formation of a BJP-led state government in West Bengal (a state which has historically never voted for right-wing parties in large numbers) for the first time as a means of paying homage to Mukherjee, who hailed from there. A BJP victory in West Bengal would have also demoralised Mamata Banerjee's attempts of creating a non-BJP non-Congress alliance of regional parties that might play an important role in the upcoming general elections.<ref>"Explained: Bengal defeat robs BJP of planks, boosts Mamata, federal pushback". The Indian Express. 3 May 2021. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.</ref><ref>"Opposition parties likely to form Federal Front following poll results". Deccan Chronicle. 5 May 2021. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.</ref>

BJP increased their seats in the assembly from 3 to 53 when the West Bengal Legislative Assembly was dissolved through defections from TMC, INC, and Left Front leaders, and by-elections from 2016 to 2021. A prominent defector in December 2020 was Suvendu Adhikari,<ref name=1751135./> who was a long-time associate of Mamata Banerjee, and a state cabinet minister who was dissatisfied over the rising influence of her nephew Abhishek Banerjee in the party. However, Adhikari revealed that he was in contact with the BJP since 2014 after he joined the party.<ref>"BJP will form next government in Bengal: Suvendu Adhikari". The Economic Times. 19 December 2020. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2021.</ref> His father Sisir Adhikari, the MP from Kanthi, also defected from TMC to BJP.<ref>"TMC MP Sisir Adhikari joins BJP at Amit shah's rally". The Economic Times. 21 March 2021. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.</ref> Another cabinet minister, Rajib Banerjee, also joined BJP.<ref>"Bengal ex-minister Rajib Banerjee, former TMC leaders join BJP". The Times of India. 31 January 2021. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2021.</ref>

However, the TMC won the Kharagpur Sadar seat from BJP and Kaliaganj seat from the INC, while retaining the Karimpur seat in the by-polls held later in 2019<ref>"By-election Results 2019: It's 3-0 in Bengal as Mamata's TMC Sweeps Kaliaganj, Kharagpur-Sadar and Karimpur". news18.com. 28 November 2019. Archived from the original on 17 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.</ref> after Abhishek Banerjee employed Prashant Kishor as the election strategist of Trinamool Congress for the upcoming polls. Elections to municipal bodies of West Bengal (which include 112 municipalities and the municipal corporations of Kolkata, Howrah, Bidhannagar, Chandannagar, Asansol and Siliguri) could not be held as scheduled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in India.

Political issues

COVID-19

Main article: COVID-19 pandemic in West Bengal

The pandemic became an election issue.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Tewari, Ruhi (5 May 2020). "Mamata's Covid politics is benefiting Modi and West Bengal's election isn't that far". ThePrint. Archived from the original on 28 September 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.</ref> The government was accused of "fudging" the count of positive cases and deaths in the region,<ref>Team, Theprint (6 May 2020). "How can Mamata Banerjee's TMC recover lost political ground after 'fudging' Covid numbers?". ThePrint. Archived from the original on 30 July 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.</ref> and the AITC-led state government and BJP-led union government blamed each other for the surge in COVID-19 infections over the course of the campaign.<ref>"TMC, BJP blame game over spiralling Covid-19 cases". @businessline. 19 April 2021. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.</ref>

The BJP accused Mamata Banerjee of not attending COVID-19 emergency management meetings held during the months of election campaigning, despite the second wave of infections,<ref>Ranjan, Abhinav (21 April 2021). "Mamata faces reality check from BJP day after questioning Centre's vaccine policy". India TV. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.</ref> and for also holding election rallies. Sanjukta Morcha held the first Brigade rally ahead of polling in West Bengal.<ref>"Huge crowd at first joint rally of Left-Cong-ISF in Kolkata, no consensus yet over seat-sharing". ANI. 28 February 2021. Archived from the original on 14 November 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2021.</ref> In mid-April, TMC requested holding the remaining phases of the elections in a single phase amid the rising number of COVID cases,<ref>"We want remaining elections in West Bengal to be held in one phase: TMC". Livemint. 16 April 2021. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.</ref> but it was rejected by the Election Commission of India (ECI).<ref>"EC rejects TMC, Congress requests to tweak West Bengal poll dates". The Indian Express. 22 April 2021. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.</ref>

Cyclone Amphan

Main article: Cyclone Amphan

Post-Cyclone Amphan situation of Deshbandhu park in Kolkata

In May 2020, a year before the 2021 elections, Cyclone Amphan hit the state.<ref>Bose, Pratim Ranjan (23 May 2020). "How Cyclone Amphan adds a new twist to the West Bengal elections". @businessline. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.</ref><ref name=":0">"A tale of two disasters: Amphan and COVID-19 have dented Mamata's political dominance in West Bengal". Times Now. 26 May 2020. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.</ref> After it passed, widespread allegations of mismanagement<ref>"Political storm in TMC over post cyclone mismanagement". The Sunday Guardian Live. 30 May 2020. Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2020.</ref> and relief scam were reported.<ref>Chattopadhyay, Suhrid Sankar (6 July 2020). "Amphan: Relief as disaster". Frontline. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.</ref><ref>Das, Madhuparna (30 June 2020). "Mamata govt now in trouble over Amphan relief 'scam', after cut-money and PDS corruption". ThePrint. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.</ref> Protests broke out in some districts over the allegations,<ref>"Cyclone 'Amphan': Protests across Kolkata as power, water crisis continues". The Times of India. 23 May 2020. Archived from the original on 22 December 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.</ref><ref>"Protests over Cyclone Amphan relief distribution continue in many WB areas". Outlook India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2020.</ref> and the opposition made it an election issue ahead of the Assembly polls.<ref>"Cyclone Amphan a catalyst for BJP's new poll strategy in Bengal". Hindustan Times. 13 June 2020. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.</ref><ref>Chattopadhyay, Suhrid Sankar (6 June 2020). "Bengal opposition leaders meet Central team, raise concerns over cyclone relief distribution". Frontline. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.</ref>

Citizenship, immigration and refugee issues

In 2019, the BJP-led Union Government passed the CAA in Parliament, promising citizenship to immigrants and refugees belonging to religious minorities in Bangladesh, and providing them with rehabilitation.<ref name="Romita Datta">Romita Datta, Why no one will douse the CAA fire in Bengal Archived 5 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine, India Today, 10 January 2020.</ref><ref name="Kaushik Deka">Kaushik Deka, Who is (not) a citizen? Archived 4 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine, India Today, 10 January 2020.</ref> The BJP's Bengali booklet released in January 2020 claimed that the National Register of Citizens was implemented to identify allegedly undocumented illegal Muslim immigrants, but religiously persecuted Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians, Jains, Parsi, and other religious minorities would be "shielded" by the CAA.<ref>Amended citizenship law will shield Hindus when NRC will be rolled out, says BJP's Bengali booklet Archived 6 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine, Scroll, 7 January 2020.</ref><ref>NRC next, says BJP's Bengali booklet on CAA Archived 25 March 2020 at the Wayback Machine, The Indian Express, 7 January 2020.</ref>

Other issues

Polarisation amongst various religious, linguistic, and caste communities were also likely to play a role in this election.<ref>"Polarisation politics peaks in Battleground Bengal". India Today. 25 March 2021. Archived from the original on 26 March 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.</ref> Both TMC and BJP had promised schemes for various communities.<ref>"West Bengal Assembly Elections 2021: Why I voted BJP? It's in my name, says voter". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2 April 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.</ref><ref>"West Bengal: India's PM Modi faces big electoral test". amp.dw.com. Archived from the original on 31 March 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.</ref> Although previously mobilized by Left governments against elites under the "class" narrative, the Dalits of West Bengal began to assert their identity politically.<ref>"The Subaltern Shift: Why Bengal is Talking About Castes This Election Season". News18. 22 March 2021. Archived from the original on 22 March 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.</ref><ref>Bandyopadhyay, Sekhar (1 April 2021). "The return of caste to Bengal". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 1 April 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.</ref><ref>"TMC, BJP tussle to woo Dalits as Bengal politics sees class- to-caste shift". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.</ref> Religious polarization is particularly intense in districts bordering Bangladesh, such as North 24 Parganas. Arguments regarding who are native to the state and constituencies were also likely to impact the elections.<ref>"Bengal polls 2021: 'Outsider' tag clings to BJP". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 31 March 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.</ref><ref>"The 'daughter of Bengal' taking on India's PM". BBC News. 1 April 2021. Archived from the original on 31 March 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.</ref><ref>"In Nandigram, Mamata Banerjee Battles "Outsider" Tag". NDTV. Archived from the original on 27 March 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.</ref> Dissatisfaction and defection of many TMC leaders to BJP, allegedly due to rising influence of Abhishek Banerjee and Kishor in party administration was also likely to impact the elections.<ref>Dutta, Prabhash K. (20 November 2020). "Why BJP is not the only challenge Mamata Banerjee faces in Bengal". India Today. Archived from the original on 20 November 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2020.</ref>

An event was organised by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs in Kolkata's Victoria Memorial to commemorate Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's 125th birth anniversary, which was attended by PM Narendra Modi and CM Mamata Banerjee among others. A large number of BJP activists were present in the crowd.<ref>"'জয় শ্রীরাম' স্লোগান: বিপাকে বিজেপি, ভাবমূর্তি ফেরাতে মরিয়া কেন্দ্রীয় নেতৃত্ব". Bartaman (in Bengali). 25 January 2021. Archived from the original on 6 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.</ref><ref>"Mamata Banerjee Heckling: BJP Had Cornered Invites To Event, Say Sources". NDTV. 25 January 2021. Archived from the original on 6 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.</ref> Just as Banerjee got up to speak, BJP supporters started chanting "Jai Shri Ram" which prompted the CM to abandon her speech.<ref>"'Don't Invite & Insult': Mamata Snaps Amid 'Jai Shri Ram' Chants". The Quint. 23 January 2021. Archived from the original on 6 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.</ref> This incident led to a political slugfest between the BJP and the TMC ahead of the upcoming elections. Meanwhile, Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh made controversial remarks about Netaji.<ref>"'নেতাজিকে নিয়ে রাজনীতি করবই, বাপের হিম্মত থাকলে আটকাক', ফের বিতর্কিত মন্তব্য দিলীপের". Sangbad Pratidin (in Bengali). 24 January 2021. Archived from the original on 6 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.</ref> Mamata claimed that the BJP had "insulted Netaji and Bengal" by their actions.<ref>"বাংলাকে অপমান, আজ জবাব মমতার | পুরশুড়ায় জনসভার দিকে তাকিয়ে রাজ্য". Bartaman (in Bengali). 25 January 2021. Archived from the original on 6 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.</ref><ref>"BJP insulted Netaji, Bengal: Mamata on 'Jai Shri Ram' chants at Victoria Memorial event". The Indian Express. 25 January 2021. Archived from the original on 6 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.</ref> The BJP leadership criticised Banerjee while the Left Front and the Congress backed her and condemned the BJP for the incident of Victoria Memorial.<ref>"মোদির মঞ্চে অপমানিত মমতা | বিজেপির নোংরামিতেও নীরব প্রধানমন্ত্রী". Bartaman (in Bengali). 24 January 2021. Archived from the original on 6 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.</ref><ref>"প্রধানমন্ত্রী কেন নীরব ছিলেন, প্রশ্ন সোনিয়ার". Bartaman (in Bengali). 25 January 2021. Archived from the original on 6 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.</ref><ref>"Row over Mamata Banerjee refusing to speak after 'Jai Shri Ram' chants: Who said what". The Times of India. 26 January 2021. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.</ref> Not only political personalities but also non-political people from different levels of the society, including Netaji's grandnephew Sugata Bose, condemned the incident of chanting religiopolitical slogans by BJP supporters which was unlikely for an apolitical event dedicated to Netaji.<ref>"সরকারি অনুষ্ঠানে 'জয় শ্রীরাম' স্লোগান | বিজেপির বিরুদ্ধে গর্জে উঠল রাজনৈতিক মহল থেকে সোশ্যাল মিডিয়া". Bartaman (in Bengali). 24 January 2021. Archived from the original on 6 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.</ref><ref>"Kolkata: 'Loved Netaji show but don't support Jai Shri Ram chants'". The Times of India. 25 January 2021. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.</ref><ref>"Jai Shri Ram chants at Netaji Bhawan, Victoria Memorial inappropriate, says Subhas Chandra Bose's grandnephew". India Today. 12 February 2021. Archived from the original on 6 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.</ref>

Schedule

The Chief Election Commissioner, Sunil Arora holding a press conference to announce the schedule for Legislative Assembly election of West Bengal along with Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry, in New Delhi on 26 February 2021. The Election Commissioners, Sushil Chandra and Rajiv Kumar and the senior officials of ECI are also seen.

The election schedule was announced on 26 February 2021, and the election was held in eight phases from 27 March 2021 to 29 April 2021. Votes were counted on 2 May 2021.<ref>"Assembly Elections 2021 dates Live: EC announces poll dates for Bengal, Kerala, TN and Assam; counting on May 2". The Indian Express. 26 February 2021. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.</ref><ref>"West Bengal election dates 2021: Eight-phase polling to start on March 27, results on May 2". The Times of India. 26 February 2021. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.</ref> On the day of announcement, the ECI declared that physically disabled and elderly voters would get the benefit of postal voting and the time limit for voting was extended by one hour.<ref>"আজকের সেরা পনেরোটি খবর একসাথে". Archived from the original on 29 June 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021 – via YouTube.</ref><ref>"Election Commission extends polling time by 30 minutes for first phase of West Bengal elections". Livemint. 2 March 2021. Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.</ref> Due to polling abnormalities, re-polling for booth number 88 in Jangipara was held in the fourth phase.<ref>"West Bengal Election 2021: 'TMC workers accompany voters inside polling booth', EC orders re-polling". The Financial Express. 9 April 2021. Archived from the original on 9 April 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2021.</ref> The elections in Jangipur and Samserganj were adjourned due to the death of the INC candidate in Samserganj and Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) candidate in Jangipur.<ref name=":4">"EC puts off poll at Bengal's Jangipur and Samserganj seats following death of 2 candidates". India Today. 18 April 2021. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.</ref> Polling for these two seats was originally rescheduled to 13 May 2021,<ref>"Bypolls in two Murshidabad constituencies on May 13, Muslims seek change". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.</ref> but as that day was Eid, it was pushed back to 16 May.<ref name="AB16May">সংবাদদাতা, নিজস্ব (22 April 2021). "Bengal Polls: করোনায় প্রার্থীর মৃত্যুতে সামশেরগঞ্জ এবং জঙ্গিপুরে ভোট পিছিয়ে ১৬ মে, জানাল কমিশন". Anandabazar. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.</ref> Later on ECI adjourned polling for both constituencies and it took place on 30 September.<ref name=adjourned_poll/> Repolling at the Amtali Madhyamik Siksha Kendra polling station in Sitalkuchi was conducted on 29 April, after CISF personnel were fired on 10 April.<ref name=pib.gov.in>"Peaceful Polling concludes across 11,860 Polling Stations ins 35 ACs in last Phase of WB Elections – Repolling in Amtali Madhyamik Siksha Kendra polling station in 5-Sitalkuchi (SC)Assembly Constituency was also conducted today". pib.gov.in. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.</ref>

Schedule

Poll event	Phase
	I	II	III	IV	V	VI	VII	VIII	—
Map of constituencies and their phases
No. of constituencies	30	30	31	44	45	43	34	35	2
Date of issue of notification	2 March 2021	5 March 2021	12 March 2021	16 March 2021	23 March 2021	26 March 2021	31 March 2021	31 March 2021	—
Last date for filling nomination	9 March 2021	12 March 2021	19 March 2021	23 March 2021	30 March 2021	3 April 2021	7 April 2021	7 April 2021	26 April 2021
Scrutiny of nomination	11 March 2021	15 March 2021	20 March 2021	24 March 2021	31 March 2021	5 April 2021	8 April 2021	8 April 2021	27 April 2021
Last date for withdrawal of nomination	12 March 2021	17 March 2021	22 March 2021	26 March 2021	3 April 2021	7 April 2021	12 April 2021	12 April 2021	29 April 2021
Date of poll	27 March 2021	1 April 2021	6 April 2021	10 April 2021	17 April 2021	22 April 2021	26 April 2021	29 April 2021	30 September 2021<ref name=bypoll/>
Date of counting of votes	2 May 2021								3 October 2021<ref name=bypoll/>

Parties and alliances

Main article: Parties and alliances in 2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election

All India Trinamool Congress+

Map of the seat sharing arrangements of the All India Trinamool Congress for the 2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election

Both factions of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) expressed support for TMC in the assembly election.<ref name="hi">The Telegraph. Hill Assembly seats set for bipolar contest Archived 3 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine</ref> TMC allotted three seats in the Darjeeling to GJM, but its two factions, namely Bimal and Binoy, declared fielding their candidates in each of the three seats.<ref>"Mamata Banerjee sets aside 3 Darjeeling seats but GJM factions remain divided". Hindustan Times. 6 March 2021. Archived from the original on 26 March 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.</ref> RJD, Shiv Sena, and JMM also endorsed Trinamool for the election.<ref>"Tejashwi Yadav meets Mamata Banerjee, offers full support in Bengal polls". Hindustan Times. 1 March 2021. Archived from the original on 14 November 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2021.</ref><ref>"Shiv Sena won't contest West Bengal polls, stand in solidarity with 'Bengal Tigress' Mamata: Sanjay Raut". Times Now. 4 March 2021. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.</ref><ref>"Hemant Soren lends his weight to Trinamool Congress, will campaign in West Bengal". The National Herald. 12 March 2021. Archived from the original on 14 November 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2021.</ref> TMC supported Independent candidate in Joypur after their candidate's nomination was cancelled.<ref name=":2">"WB Election 2021: ভোটে অংশ নিতে পারবেন না জয়পুরের তৃণমূল প্রার্থী, ডিভিশন বেঞ্চে খারিজ সিঙ্গল বেঞ্চের নির্দেশ". ABP Ananda (in Bengali). 12 March 2021. Archived from the original on 12 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.</ref><ref name=":3">"WB Election 2021: পুরুলিয়ায় জয়পুরে নির্দল প্রার্থীকে সমর্থন তৃণমূলের". ABP Ananda (in Bengali). 16 March 2021. Archived from the original on 16 March 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.</ref>

All India Trinamool Congress+
Party		Flag	Symbol	Leader	Seats
	All India Trinamool Congress			Mamata Banerjee	290
	Gorkha Janmukti Morcha			Bimal Gurung	3
Binay Tamang
	Independent politician				1
Total					294

National Democratic Alliance

Main article: National Democratic Alliance

Five hill-based parties pledged support to BJP ahead of the assembly election: Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists, Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League (ABGL), Gorkhaland Rajya Nirman Morcha, and SUMETI Mukti Morcha.<ref name=hi/> Hindu Samhati, a right-wing organisation in West Bengal, had withdrawn their support from the BJP at first<ref>Khanna, Rohit (29 October 2020). "Hindu Samhati severs BJP ties, to contest Bengal polls". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.</ref> to contest the elections on their own,<ref>Chatterjee, Tanmay (15 February 2021). "Bengal polls: New contender in race, far-Right group Hindu Samhati forms party". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 31 March 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.</ref> but eventually they supported the BJP.<ref>Saha, Dibyendu (13 March 2021). "রাজ্যে বিজেপির প্রতিদ্বন্দ্বীর সংখ্যা কমল, ২১-এর লড়াইয়ে অ্যাডভান্টেজ গেরুয়া শিবিরের". One India (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 13 March 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.</ref> BJP allotted the Amta constituency seat to the president of Hindu Samhati to contest under the symbol of BJP.<ref>Pande, Manisha (20 March 2021). "Strong base and Bengali Hindutva: In Howrah, far-right Hindu Samhati comes to BJP's rescue". Newslaundry. Archived from the original on 7 April 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.</ref>

Map of the seat sharing arrangements of the Bharatiya Janata Party for the 2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election

BJP also allotted the Baghmundi constituency, bordering Jharkhand, to the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU).<ref>"BJP leaves one seat for ally Ajsu Party to contest in Bengal". The Telegraph. 8 March 2021. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2021.</ref><ref name=":1">"Bengal Elections 2021: Full List Of BJP Candidates". NDTV. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2021.</ref>

National Democratic Alliance
Party		Flag	Symbol	Leader	Seats
	Bharatiya Janata Party	File:BJP flag.svg		Dilip Ghosh	293
	All Jharkhand Students Union			Ashutosh Mahto	1
Total					294

Sanjukta Morcha

Main article: Sanjukta Morcha

On 28 January 2021 Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury announced that seat-sharing talks between the Congress and Left Front had concluded for 193 seats and that the remaining 101 seats would be decided at a later point.<ref name="dh">Outlook. Cong, LF finalise seat sharing in 193 seats in WB, decision on rest 101 later Archived 3 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine</ref><ref>News18. West Bengal Elections: Congress to Contest on 92 Seats, Left Parties Get 101 After Round 2 of Talks Archived 3 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine</ref> Out of the 193 seats agreed upon by 28 January 92 went to Congress and 101 to the Left Front.<ref name="dh" /> Left Front and Congress announced from a rally at the Brigade Parade ground on 28 February 2021 that they would form an alliance called Sanyukta Morcha with a newly-formed outfit called ISF.<ref>"Million Plus People at Brigade Rally Heralds Left-Led Sanjukta Morcha". News Click. 1 March 2021. Archived from the original on 3 May 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.</ref> ISF initially claimed that they secured 30 seats from the Left Front's quota.<ref>"Abbas Siddiqui's ISF seals deal with Left in 30 seats". First Post. 26 February 2021. Archived from the original on 3 May 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021.</ref> After the final seat sharing agreement was concluded, it was announced that the Left Front would contest 165 seats, Congress 92 seats, and ISF 37 seats.<ref>"Left to fight 165 West Bengal seats, Congress 92, ISF 37". The Times of India. 5 March 2021. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.</ref><ref name=":5">"ISF to fight polls on borrowed symbol". Millennium Post. 18 March 2021. Archived from the original on 18 March 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2021.</ref>

Left Front chairman Biman Bose announced the candidates for the first and second-phase elections on 5 March alongside INC and ISF leaders, leaving seats for them in the list.<ref>"Left Front Reveals Candidates for 1st and 2nd Phase". The Quint. 5 March 2021. Archived from the original on 3 May 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.</ref> INC revealed its first list of 13 candidates for the first two phases on 6 March.<ref>"Congress releases first list of 13 candidates for upcoming West Bengal assembly elections". Zee News. 6 March 2021. Archived from the original on 3 May 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.</ref> Left Front announced its second list of candidates on 10 March, consisting of several new and young faces from All India Students Federation (AISF), All India Youth Federation (AIYF), Students' Federation of India (SFI), and Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), along with ex-ministers of the Left Front government and ex-MPs;<ref>"Left packs candidate list with fresh faces, veterans". The Times of India. 11 March 2021. Archived from the original on 3 May 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2021.</ref> Bose also nominated DYFI West Bengal state president Minakshi Mukherjee as the CPI(M) candidate for the Nandigram seat, which was kept vacant in the first list published on 5 March.<ref>"CPI(M) declares Minakshi Mukherjee as its candidate from Nandigram". India Today. 10 March 2021. Archived from the original on 3 May 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2021.</ref> On 14 March, INC revealed their second list of 34 candidates on 14 March,<ref>"Congress releases list of 34 candidates". India TV. 14 March 2021. Archived from the original on 3 May 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2021.</ref> and ISF their first set of 20 candidates.<ref>"ISF releases names of 20 candidates for West Bengal elections". India Today. 14 March 2021. Archived from the original on 3 May 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2021.</ref> Sanyukta Morcha announced 15 more candidates on 17 March consisting of 9 from the Left Front, 2 from INC, and 4 from ISF.<ref>"আরও ১৫ আসনে প্রার্থীদের নাম ঘোষণা সংযুক্ত মোর্চার". TV9 Bangla. 17 March 2021. Archived from the original on 3 May 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2021.</ref> INC revealed their third list of 39 candidates on 20 March,<ref>"Candidate List West Bengal Election 2021". TV9 Bangla. 20 March 2021. Archived from the original on 3 May 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.</ref> and two more on 22 March.

Map of the seat sharing arrangement between the parties of the Sanjukta Morcha for the 2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election

Sanjukta Morcha<ref name=seat_share>"West Bengal General Legislative Election 2021". eci.gov.in. 21 June 2021. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2021.</ref>
Party		Flag	Symbol	Leader	Seats
	Communist Party of India			Surjya Kanta Mishra	137+2
	All India Forward Bloc			Debabrata Biswas	17+4
	Revolutionary Socialist Party			Biswanath Chowdhury	11
	Communist Party of India			Swapan Banerjee	10
	Indian National Congress			Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury	83+9
	Indian Secular Front			Abbas Siddiqui	25+7
Total					283+11

NOTE:

• A total of 305 candidates were fielded. These candidates contested 283 unique seats. In 11 of those seats, there were two candidates each, making a total of 22 candidates across those constituencies. Overall, the alliance contested all 294 assembly seats.

Friendly Fight

Sl. No.	Parties Involved	#	Constituency Name
1	INC and AIFB	46	Harishchandrapur
2		240	Baghmundi
3		241	Joypur
4	INC and ISF	52	Mothabari
5		53	Sujapur
6		63	Raninagar
7		64	Murshidabad
8		55	Farakka
9	INC and CPI(M)	56	Samserganj
10	CPI(M) and ISF	82	Chapra
11	ISF and AIFB	120	Deganga

Others

Shiv Sena initially said that they would contest in around 100 seats,<ref>"West Bengal elections: As Shiv Sena plans to contest 100 seats, here's how party fared in previous polls". Times Now. 5 January 2021. Archived from the original on 9 January 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2021.</ref> but later on 4 March 2021 announced that they would not contest and would support Mamata Banerjee and TMC.<ref>"Shiv Sena Won't Contest Bengal Polls, to Support Mamata Banerjee". News18. 4 March 2021. Archived from the original on 3 May 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021.</ref>

Party		Flag	Symbol	Leader(s)	Seats contested<ref name=seat_share/>
	Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist)			Provash Ghosh	188
	Bahujan Samaj Party<ref>"BSP will contest Assembly polls in Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry alone, says Mayawati". Scroll.in. 15 March 2021. Archived from the original on 24 April 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021.</ref>			Mayawati	162
	Janata Dal (United)<ref>"Bihar ruling party JDU to contest in Assam and West Bengal polls, finalises on candidates". The New Indian Express. March 2021. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.</ref>			Sanjay Verma	16<ref>"Nitish Kumar likely to give Assam, West Bengal poll campaigns a miss". Hindustan Times. 23 March 2021. Archived from the original on 24 March 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2021.</ref>
	Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation<ref>সংবাদদাতা, নিজস্ব (28 January 2021). "পশ্চিমবঙ্গে বিজেপি-র বিরুদ্ধে লড়াই করবে লিবারেশন, ঘোষণা হল ১২ আসনের তালিকা". Anandabazar. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.</ref>			Dipankar Bhattacharya	12
	All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen<ref>"AIMIM Decides to Field 13 Candidates in West Bengal's Murshidabad". News18. 19 March 2021. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.</ref><ref>"Major setback for AIMIM, party's Bengal in-charge quits ahead of assembly polls". Hindustan Times. 19 March 2021. Archived from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.</ref><ref>"AIMIM to be in poll fray for West Bengal, says Asaduddin Owaisi; to announce seats on March 27". Times Now. 23 March 2021. Archived from the original on 23 March 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2021.</ref>			Asaduddin Owaisi	6<ref>लोईवाल, मनोज्ञा (7 April 2021). "WB Election 2021, AIMIM: असदुद्दीन ओवैसी की पार्टी ने बंगाल की इन सात सीटों पर उतारे अपने उम्मीदवार". abplive.com. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.</ref><ref>"AIMIM to fight from only 7 seats in West Bengal". The Times of India. 7 April 2021. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.</ref><ref>Das, Madhuparna (7 April 2021). "Owaisi fields 7 candidates in Bengal, counts on Muslim-majority seats for state debut". ThePrint. Archived from the original on 7 April 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.</ref>
	Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Red Star<ref>"India: 2021 elections in five states – what do they reveal?". marxist.com. 12 April 2021. Archived from the original on 24 April 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.</ref>			K N Ramchandran	3
	National People's Party<ref>"No. of Contesting Candidates" (PDF). ceowestbengal.nic.in. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.</ref>				3

Candidates

Further information: List of candidates in the 2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election

Surveys and polls

Exit poll

On 27 March, the ECI banned the publication of surveys and exit polls until 7:30 pm on 29 April to prevent influencing voters,<ref>"Election Commission bans exit polls till 7:30 PM on April 29". NewsOnAIR. Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.</ref><ref>"Exit Poll Results 2021 date and time: When and where to watch exit poll results for West Bengal, Assam, TN, Kerala and Puducherry". Firstpost. 29 April 2021. Archived from the original on 28 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.</ref> but the ban ended half an hour earlier.<ref>"Commission's Corrigendum to the Notification No. 576/EXIT/2021/SDR-Vol. I dated 24th March, 2021 – Exit Poll- regarding". Election Commission of India. Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.</ref>

Date published	Polling agency					Lead
		AITC+	BJP+	SM	Others
29 April 2021	ABP News – C-Voter<ref>"Exit Poll West Bengal Election Results 2021: কাদের দখলে নবান্ন?". 29 April 2021. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2021 – via YouTube.</ref><ref>"West Bengal Exit Poll: Mamata-Led TMC To Return To Power; BJP To Emerge As Second Largest Party". news.abplive.com. 29 April 2021. Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.</ref>	152–164	109–121	14–25	–	31–55
		42.1%	39.2%	15.4%	3.3%	2.9%
29 April 2021	NK Digital Magazine<ref>"Exit Poll &#124; ভোটের ভবিষ্যৎ &#124; West Bengal Election 2021 &#124; বুথ ফেরৎ সমীক্ষা । TMC BJP CPIM CONGRESS". NK Digital Magazine (in Bengali). 29 April 2021. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.</ref>	(193+1)=194	73	22	3	121
30 April – 1 May 2021	Ekhon Biswa Bangla Sangbad<ref>"Facebook". Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021 – via Facebook.</ref><ref>"করোনাকাল ও ভোটের ফল। দর্শকদের মুখোমুখি কুণাল ঘোষ". Biswa Bangla Sangbad (in Bengali). 1 May 2021. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.</ref><ref>"Facebook". Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021 – via Facebook.</ref>	217	63	10±2	2	154
30 April 2021	FAM Community<ref>"Exit Poll West Bengal Election Results 2021 &#124; Agnivo Niyogi &#124; arpandutta". Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021 – via YouTube.</ref>	(182–1)=181	99	(12–1)=11	1	82
29 April 2021	DB Live<ref>"Exit poll 2021 : west bengal, assam, kerala, tamilnadu, puducheri election &#124; #DBLIVE exit poll". 29 April 2021. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021 – via YouTube.</ref><ref>"Exit Polls 2021 &#124; West Bengal Election 2021 में किसकी सरकार &#124; PM Modi &#124; Results &#124;#DBLIVE". 29 April 2021. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021 – via YouTube.</ref>	154–169	94–109	24–34	0–1	45–75
29 April 2021	Drishtibhongi<ref>"দেখুন দৃষ্টিভঙ্গির EXCLUSIVE বুথ ফেরত সমীক্ষা &#124; Drishtibhongi &#124; দৃষ্টিভঙ্গি". 29 April 2021. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021 – via YouTube.</ref>	174	103	15	2	71
		45%	38%	12%	5%	7%
29 April 2021	Ground Zero Research<ref>"West Bengal Elections 2021: Exit Poll". groundzeroresearch.com. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.</ref><ref name="bengali.abplive.com">আনন্দ, ওয়েব ডেস্ক, এবিপি (29 April 2021). "WB ABP-Cvoter Exit Poll Results 2021: নবান্ন নীল-সাদাই! তৃণমূলের ফেরার ইঙ্গিত বেশিরভাগ বুথফেরত সমীক্ষায়, একসঙ্গে রইল সমস্ত এক্সিট পোল". bengali.abplive.com. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)</ref><ref>"Facebook". Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021 – via Facebook.</ref>	154–186	96–124	6–14	2–3	30–90
29 April 2021	IPSOS<ref name="bengali.abplive.com"/>	158	115	19	–	43
29 April 2021	Today's Chanakya<ref>"West Bengal Assembly Elections 2021 Exit Poll&#124;Post Poll Analysis". todayschanakya.com. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.</ref>	169–191	97–119	0–8	0–3	50–94
		46%	39%	9%	6%	7%
29 April 2021	ETG Research<ref>"EtG Research – West Bengal Politics – Tamilnadu Politics – Bihar Politics". EtG Research. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.</ref>	164–176	105–115	10–15	0–1	49–71
		42.4%	39.1%	14.2%	4.3%	3.3%
29 April 2021	P-MARQ<ref name=":6">"P-MARQ". pmarq.in. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.</ref><ref>"Exit Poll Results 2021 Live &#124; Assemby Elections Exit Polls Result of West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry". News18. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.</ref><ref name="ndtv.com">"Exit Polls Predict Close Bengal Fight With Thin Edge For Mamata Banerjee". NDTV. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.</ref>	152–172	112–132	10–20	–	20–60
		44%	40%	12%	–	4%
29 April 2021	NEWSX – Polstrat<ref name="oneindia.com">"West Bengal Election 2021 Opinion Poll and Exit Poll Results, Survey and Predictions". Oneindia. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.</ref><ref name="exchange4media.com">"Polstrat & News X release West Bengal exit poll results". Exchange4media. 30 April 2021. Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.</ref><ref name="news18.com">"Exit Poll Results 2021 Live by Republic CNX &#124; Assemby Elections Exit Polls Result of West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry". News18. Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.</ref>	152–162	115–125	16–26	–	27–47
29 April 2021	TV9 Bharatvarsh – Polstrat'<ref>"Hindi News Before West Bengal". TV9 Hindi. Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2021.</ref><ref name="exchange4media.com"/><ref name="oneindia.com"/>	142–152	125–135	16–26	–	7–27
		43.9%	40.5%	10.7%	4.9%	3.4%
29 April 2021	India Today – Axis-My-India<ref>"India Today-Axis My India exit polls results 2021: Voters of Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala, Puducherry have decided". India Today. 29 April 2021. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.</ref><ref name="ndtv.com"/>	130–156	134–160	0–2	0–1	HUNG
		44%	43%	10%	3%	1%
29 April 2021	India TV – Peoples Pulse<ref>Shantanu, Shashank (29 April 2021). "Bengal Exit Poll: BJP likely to deny Mamata third term &#124; Key takeaways". indiatvnews.com. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.</ref>	64–88	173–192	7–12	–	85–128
29 April 2021	Jan-Ki-Baat<ref name="news18.com"/><ref>"India News -Jan Ki Baat release exit poll results for 5 states". Exchange4media. 30 April 2021. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.</ref><ref name="ndtv.com"/>	104–121	162–185	3–9	–	58–64
		44–45%	46–48%	5–8%	2%	1–4%
29 April 2021	Priyo Bandhu Media<ref>"ভোটের সমীক্ষা – প্রিয় বন্ধু বাংলা". Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.</ref>	82	187	22	1	105
29 April 2021	Arambagh TV<ref>"West Bengal election-2021 final exit poll by Arambagh TV (কে গড়বে সরকার?কি বলছে আরামবাগ টিভি? দেখুন". 29 April 2021. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021 – via YouTube.</ref>	84–119	159–192	11–20	–	40–108
29 April 2021	Sudarshan News<ref>"#SudarshanExitPoll बंगाल में लहराने जा रहा भगवा ध्वज.. भाजपा को स्पष्ट बहुमत का अनुमान, ओवैसी ने चाटी धूल". sudarshannews.in. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.</ref>	97–104	170–180	6–10	1–3	66–83
29 April 2021	The Enigmous<ref>"Archived copy". Archived from the original on 16 July 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)</ref>	188	91	13	0	97
Overall average		143–155	121–134	12–17	1	9–34

NK Digital Magazine's exit poll predicted victory for TMC in general election for the Samserganj seat and by-election for the Bhabanipur seat.<ref>EXIT POLL of BHAWANIPUR and Samshergaunj West Bengal Assembly Election 2021 By poll (in Bengali). NK Digital Magazine. 30 September 2021. Archived from the original on 30 September 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021 – via YouTube.</ref><ref>Exit Poll of Bhabanipur | Calculation according to the candidates | West Bengal Assembly Election (in Bengali). NK Digital Magazine. 2 October 2021. Archived from the original on 2 October 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021 – via YouTube.</ref><ref>Exit Poll of Bhabanipur (in हिन्दी). NK INDIA. 2 October 2021. Archived from the original on 2 October 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021 – via YouTube.</ref> Ekhon Biswa Bangla Sangbad predicted TMC's victory in all three seats where elections took place on 30 September.<ref>লিখে রাখুন ফলাফল ৩-০ হচ্ছে: কুণাল (in Bengali). Ekhon BiswaBangla Sangbad. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021 – via Facebook.</ref>

Opinion poll

A number of pre-poll surveys for the elections were published by different agencies and groups in the span of one year until 27 March. Most polls contradicted each other regarding the possible outcome.<ref>"Trinamool or BJP? As battle for 'Poriborton' heats up in Bengal, pollsters divided over outcome". The New Indian Express. 10 March 2021. Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.</ref>

Date published	Polling agency					Lead
		AITC+	NDA	SM	Others
25 March 2021	P-Marq<ref>"P-Marq survey gives edge to BJP in West Bengal, Left in Kerala". The Siasat Daily. 25 March 2021. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021.</ref><ref name=":6"/>	121–130	149–158	11–15	–	19–37
		43%	42%	13%	–	1%
25 March 2021	DB Live<ref>"सबसे सटीक Opinion Poll &#124; किसकी बनेगी सरकार ? &#124;Election 2021 &#124; chunav news &#124;mamata banerjee #DBLIVE". 25 March 2021. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021 – via YouTube.</ref>	170–175	74–79	42–47	0–2	91–101
19–25 March 2021	Priyo Bandhu Media<ref name="crowdwisdom360.com">"Bengal Election Result 2021: TMC heading for a Massive Win". crowdwisdom360.com. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.</ref><ref>"WB Election 21: প্রথম দফার ৩০ আসনে কে কোথায় জিততে চলেছেন? দেখুন সর্বশেষ সমীক্ষার বিস্তারিত ফলাফল". 19 March 2021. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021 – via YouTube.</ref><ref>"প্রথম দফার নির্বাচনের সম্ভাব্য সমীক্ষা, কারা হাসতে চলেছে শেষ হাসি, জেনে নিন! – প্রিয় বন্ধু বাংলা". Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.</ref>	93	168	33	–	75
24 March 2021	Times Now C-Voter <ref>"West Bengal Opinion Poll 2021: 'BJP may emerge as force to reckon with; TMC likely to get 160 seats'". Times Now. 24 March 2021. Archived from the original on 26 March 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.</ref>	152–168	104–120	18–26	0–2	32–64
		42%	37%	13%	8%
24 March 2021	TV9 Bharatvarsh <ref>"West Bengal Election 2021 Opinion Poll: BJP दे रही है कड़ी टक्कर, बहुमत से 2 सीट दूर रह जाएंगी ममता". TV9 Hindi (in हिन्दी). 24 March 2021. Archived from the original on 24 March 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.</ref>	146	122	23	3	HUNG
		39.6%	37.1%	17.4%	5.9%
23 March 2021	ABP News – CNX<ref>"ABP-CNX Opinion Poll, WB Election: BJP Inches Closer With TMC in Vote Share; People Voice For Change". news.abplive.com. 23 March 2021. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.</ref>	136–146	130–140	14–18	1–3	HUNG
		40%	38%	16%	6%
23 March 2021	India TV- Peoples Pulse<ref>Bhandari, Shashwat (24 March 2021). "West Bengal opinion poll: Mamata or Modi, who has the edge? | Big takeaways". India TV. Archived from the original on 24 March 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.</ref>	95	183	16	0	88
23 March 2021	Jan-Ki-Baat<ref>Pandey, Aanchal (23 March 2021). "India News Jan Ki Baat Opinion Poll Bengal: TMC BJP MAHAJOT Vote Percent in West Bengal Assembly Election Result 2021 India News Jan Ki Baat Opinion Poll Bengal: परिवर्तन के पक्ष में बंगाल की जनता, जानिए बीजेपी और टीएमसी को कितने प्रतिशत वोट?". Inkhabar (in हिन्दी). Archived from the original on 23 March 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.</ref><ref>Pandey, Aanchal (23 March 2021). "India News Jan Ki Baat Opinion Poll Bengal: BJP TMC MAHAJOT Seat Sharing in West Bengal Assembly Election 2021 Result, Win Loss Seat Sharing India News Jan Ki Baat Opinion Poll West Bengal : पश्चिम बंगाल में चलेगा बीजेपी का जादू, इतनी सीटों पर सिमट सकती हैं ममता बनर्जी की पार्टी टीएमसी". Inkhabar (in हिन्दी). Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.</ref>	118–134	150–162	10–14	0	16–44
		44.1%	44.8%	7.5%	3%
20 March 2021	Polstrat<ref>Maskara, Shreya (20 March 2021). "Polstrat Opinion Poll 2021: Voices from West Bengal". Medium. Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.</ref>	163	102	29	0	61
		44.4%	37.4%	11.7%	–	7%
17 March 2021	Shining India<ref>"West Bengal Election 2021: Shining India Opinion Poll predicts Mamata Banerjee's return as CM". Shining India News. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.</ref>	157–179	78–100	28–42	0–4	57–101
15 March 2021	ABP News – C Voter<ref>"ABP News-CVoter Opinion Poll 2021 HIGHLIGHTS: From TMC To AINRC; Know Who Is Leading Where Ahead Of Assembly Polls". news.abplive.com. 15 March 2021. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.</ref><ref>"ABP Opinion Poll: TMC Still Top Choice in West Bengal, BJP Inches Closer; Cong+Left Nowhere in Race". news.abplive.com. 15 March 2021. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.</ref><ref>আনন্দ, ওয়েব ডেস্ক, এবিপি (15 March 2021). "WB Election C-Voter Opinion Poll 2021 LIVE: বাংলার মসনদে কে, কী বলছে সি ভোটারের তৃতীয় দফার সমীক্ষা?". bengali.abplive.com. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)</ref>	150–166	98–114	23–31	3–5	36–52
		43.4%	38.4%	12.7	5.5%
8 March 2021	ABP News – CNX<ref>"ABP-CNX Opinion Poll 2021: BJP Loses Ground, TMC Constant; Check Swinging Vote Share & Seat Projection Ahead of Bengal Polls". ABP Live. 8 March 2021. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.</ref>	154–164	102–112	22–30	01-03	42–62
		42%	34%	20%	4%
8 March 2021	Times Now – C Voter<ref>"West Bengal Pre Poll Survey 2021: Mamata likely to retain power; BJP expected to bag 107 seats". Google News. Archived from the original on 28 August 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.</ref>	146–162	99–112	29–37	0	31–63
		42.2%	37.5%	14.8%	5.5%
24 February 2021	Times Democracy<ref name="crowdwisdom360.com"/><ref name="oneindia.com"/>	151	131	12	–	20
		44.10%	39.61%	12.70%	3.59%	4.49%
13–14 February 2021	NK Digital Magazine<ref name="crowdwisdom360.com"/><ref>"West Bengal Assembly Election 2021 Opinion Poll Final Part, Episode 1 &#124; TMC BJP CPIM CONGRESS". NK Digital Magazine (in Bengali). 13 February 2021. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.</ref>	192	69	30	3	123
		49%	39%	10%	2%	10%

<!--| rowspan="2" |27 February 2021 ! rowspan="2" |ABP News – C Voter<ref>"C-Voter Opinion poll বিধানসভা ভোটে কোন দল ক'টি আসন পেতে পারে? কী বলছে C Voter জনমত সমীক্ষা". ABP Ananda (in Bengali). 27 February 2021.</ref><ref>"C-Voter Opinion poll কোন দল পেতে পারে কত শতাংশ ভোট? কী বলছে C Voter জনমত সমীক্ষা". ABP Ananda (in Bengali). 27 February 2021.</ref> | style="background:#B0F4B0" |148–164 |92–108 |31–39 |1–5 | rowspan="2" style="background:#B0F4B0" |40–72 |- | style="background:#B0F4B0" |43% |38% |13% |6% |- | rowspan="2" |15 February 2021 ! rowspan="2" |ABP News – CNX<ref>"CNX Opinion Poll: আসন্ন নির্বাচনে কোন দল পেতে পারে কটা আসন?". ABP Ananda (in Bengali). 15 February 2021.</ref><ref>"ABP News Opinion Poll: TMC Or BJP? Know Where Voters Are Leaning Towards In West Bengal Elections". ABP Live. 15 February 2021.</ref> | style="background:#B0F4B0" |146–156 |113–119 |20–28 |1–3 | rowspan="2" style="background:#B0F4B0" |25–43 |- | style="background:#B0F4B0" |41% |37% |17% |5% |- | rowspan="2" | 18 January 2021 ! rowspan="2" | ABP News – CVoter<ref>"ABP-CVoter Election 2021 Opinion Poll LIVE: People In Bengal Satisfied With Mamata, TMC To Regain Power". ABP Live. 18 January 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2021.</ref> | style="background:#B0F4B0" |158 | 102 | 30 | 4 | rowspan="2" style="background:#B0F4B0" |56 |- | style="background:#B0F4B0" |43% |37.5% |12% |7.5% |}--> NK Digital Magazine's opinion poll predicted victory for TMC in Jangipur and Samserganj.<ref>UP & West Bengal Assembly ElectionOpinion Poll Part 1 | NK Digital (in Bengali). NK Digital Magazine. 12 September 2021. Archived from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via YouTube.</ref><ref>West Bengal Assembly Election 2021| Bhawanipur | By Poll #Mamata Banerjee # Priyanka Tibrewal (in Bengali). NK Digital Magazine. 15 September 2021. Archived from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via YouTube.</ref><ref>Bhawanipur Ka Bhabishya | Future of Mamata Banerjee | NK India (in हिन्दी). NK INDIA. 16 September 2021. Archived from the original on 16 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021 – via YouTube.</ref> They also conducted a pre-poll survey across poll-bound Assembly constituencies that predicted TMC's victory.<ref>West Bengal Assembly Election 2021 Opinion Poll (in Bengali). NK Digital Magazine. 17 October 2021. Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021 – via YouTube.</ref><ref>West Bengal Assembly Election 2021 Opinion Poll of Santipur Dinhata Bye Poll NK Digital (in Bengali). NK Digital Magazine. 24 October 2021. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021 – via YouTube.</ref>

Election

COVID-19 guidelines

The ECI issued various health guidelines for conducting the elections, including the use of masks, sanitisation of the polling booths, use of thermal scanners before entering the polling booths, maintaining social distancing, and so forth.<ref>"Election Covid Guidelines: করোনা আবহে কোভিড বিধি মেনেই ভোট, জেনে নিন সব গাইডলাইন". ABP Ananda (in Bengali). 26 February 2021. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.</ref> The maximum number of voters for each polling station was lowered to 1000 from 1500.<ref>"Assembly polls 2021: Guidelines in place for Covid-positive voters". Deccan Herald. 2 March 2021. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.</ref>

A volunteer conducting thermal screening on voters at a polling booth during the third phase of the West Bengal Assembly Election, in Uluberia, West Bengal, on 6 April 2021

After COVID-19 cases increased in the state,<ref>"COVID-19 cases spike in poll-bound West Bengal". The Hindu. 18 March 2021. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.</ref> the ECI issued warnings for all recognised state and national political parties to strictly follow COVID-19 guidelines,<ref>"Follow Covid norms or will ban rallies, Election Commission tells parties". The Indian Express. 10 April 2021. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.</ref> and banned all political rallies, public meetings, street plays and nukkad sabhas from 7 pm to 10 am starting from 16 April.<ref>"West Bengal Election 2021: EC bans rallies, public meetings from 7 pm to 10 am amid COVID surge". DNA India. 16 April 2021. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.</ref> On 22 April 2021, before the seventh and eighth phases of voting, the ECI forbade roadshows, and added that at most 500 people were allowed in public meetings.<ref>Bhandari, Shashwat (22 April 2021). "Covid-19: EC restricts Bengal election campaigning, parties can't hold roadshows". India TV. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.</ref> On 27 April, they issued a notification over banning victory processions on and after the day the votes were counted.<ref>"Amid Covid-19 surge, Election Commission bans victory processions during and after counting of votes on May 2". The Indian Express. 27 April 2021. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.</ref>

Security preparations

An elderly voter casts her vote with the help of CAPF officers at 260 Bardhaman Dakshin Assembly constituency of the Purba Bardhaman district.

After several instances of violence, threats, and murders before the polls were announced, the ECI and the Home Ministry ordered twelve companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) to be deployed in West Bengal on 20 February. At least 125 more CAPF troops were dispatched to reach West Bengal on 25 February to focus on sensitive zones.<ref>"West Bengal Election 2021: 12 Companies Of Central Forces Reach Bengal As Poll Preparation Begins". Moneycontrol. 20 February 2021. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.</ref> 60 companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), 30 companies of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), 25 companies of the Border Security Force (BSF) and five companies each of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).<ref>"Explained: Why the EC is sending 125 companies of CAPF to Bengal before poll announcement". The Indian Express. 4 March 2021. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.</ref> The total number of central forces rose to 725,<ref>"725 CAPF companies to be deployed for West Bengal polls, informs CRPF DG". Free Press Journal. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.</ref><ref>"725 CAPF companies to be deployed for West Bengal polls: CRPF chief Kuldiep Singh | West Bengal News". Times Now. 18 March 2021. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.</ref> before a final total of 1,000 companies after the third phase of polling.<ref>"200 more CAPF companies to reach Bengal". The Times of India. 4 April 2021. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.</ref>

In the second phase of election, Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure was implemented across areas in the Tamluk and Haldia subdivisions.<ref>Kaushika, Pragya (31 March 2021). "Ahead of phase II polling, Bengal administration imposes Section 144 in Nandigram, adjoining constituencies". ANI News. Archived from the original on 31 March 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.</ref> After the fourth phase of polling, the ECI deployed an extra 71 companies of central forces.<ref>"Amid poll-related violence, 71 more CAPF companies rushed to West Bengal". The Financial Express. 10 April 2021. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.</ref>

Voting

Polling officials carrying the electronic voting machines and other necessary devices required for the West Bengal Assembly election at a distribution centre in Uluberia, West Bengal, on 5 April 2021

First time voters showing election ink marks after casting their vote at a polling booth during the fourth phase of the West Bengal Assembly election at Nehru Colony Primary School, Regent Park, Kolkata, West Bengal, on 10 April 2021

Voters standing in a queue to cast their votes at a polling booth during the third phase of the West Bengal Assembly election, in Uluberia, West Bengal, on 6 April 2021

Voter turnout

Phase wise voter turnout

Phase		Seats	Voters	Polled	Turnout
	I	30	7,380,942		84.63%
	II	30	7,594,549		86.11%
	III	31	7,852,425		84.61%
	IV	44	11,581,022		79.90%
	V	45	11,347,344		82.49%
	VI	43	10,387,791		82.00%
	VII	34	8,188,907		76.89%
	VIII	35	8,477,728		78.32%
	Later	2
Total		294	73,298,428	59,935,989	82.30%

• Number of general voters: 73,294,980
  • Male voters: 37,366,306
  • Female voters: 35,927,084
  • Non-binary voters: 1,590
• Number of service voters: 112,642
• Overseas voters: 210
• Total number of voters: 73,407,832
• Polling stations: 101,916<ref>"Over 20 lakh new voters added to final electoral rolls for West Bengal". Hindustan Times. 15 January 2021. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.</ref><ref>"Explained: What the 8-phase West Bengal election means for EC, parties and voters". 16 March 2021. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.</ref><ref>"West Bengal Assembly Elections 2021: Phase-3 voting date, schedule, key candidates and constituencies – All you need to know". 4 April 2021. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.</ref>

Phases

Phase	Description	Citation
I	Nearly 74 lakh voters across 10,288 polling stations of West Bengal were registered in this phase of election. Webcasting was arranged for 5,392 polling stations. During this phase, a total of 10,288 Ballot Units (BUs), 10,288 Control Units (CUs) and 10,288 Voter-verified paper audit trails (VVPATs) were used in West Bengal.	<ref>"Polling for Phase 1 Assam and West Bengal Assembly Constituencies conducted peacefully & successfully". Election Commission of India. Archived from the original on 27 March 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.</ref>
II	Nearly 73 lakh electorates across 10,592 polling stations of West Bengal were registered in this phase of election. Webcasting were arranged for 5,535 polling stations. During this phase, a total of 10,620 BUs, 10,620 CUs, and 10,620 VVPATs were used. 1,137 Flying Squads (FS) and 1,012 Static Surveillance Teams (SST) checked the transfer of cash, liquor, drugs and freebies. 3 Air Intelligence Units (AIU) of the IT Department were also set up at Kolkata, Andal, Durgapur and Bagdogra. 14,499 cases of Model Code of Conduct violations were reported in West Bengal with 11,630 detained until 4:30 pm of voting day.	<ref>"Polling for Phase 2 Assam and West Bengal Assembly Constituencies conducted peacefully". Election Commission of India. Archived from the original on 1 April 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.</ref>
III	A total of 7,852,425 voters were eligible to vote in 10,871 polling stations, out of which, 64,083 were physically disabled voters, and 126,177 voters were above the age of 80. 22 general observers, 7 police observers and 9 expenditure observers were deployed.	<ref>"Polling in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and for Phase 3 Assembly Constituencies in Assam and West Bengal conducted peacefully Voting held in 1.5 lakh Polling Stations across 475 Assembly Constituencies". Election Commission of India. 6 April 2021. Archived from the original on 6 April 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2021.</ref>
IV	A total of 11,581,022 voters were eligible to vote in this phase of election, of which 50,523 were physically disabled voters, and 203,927 were voters above the age of 80.	<ref>"Polling in Phase 4 Assembly Constituencies in West Bengal conducted today; ECI adjourns polling in PS 126 of 5-Sitalkuchi (SC) Assembly constituency, Cooch Behar". Election Commission of India. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.</ref>
V	A total of 11,347,344 voters were eligible to vote in this phase of election, of which 60,198 were physically disabled, and 179,634 were above the age of 80.	<ref>"Polling in 15,789 Polling Stations spread across 45 Assembly Constituencies in West Bengal Phase V Elections, Bye-Election in 2 Parliamentary Constituencies and 12 Assembly Constituencies across 10 States conducted peacefully today". Election Commission of India. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.</ref>
VI	A total of 10,387,791 voters were eligible to vote in this phase of election, of which 64,266 were physically disabled and 157,290 were above the age of 80.	<ref>"Polling held in 14,480 Polling Stations spread across 43 ACs in Phase VI WB Elections. Voter Turnout (at 5 PM) for Phase VI West Bengal Election 79.09%". Election Commission of India. 22 April 2021. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.</ref>
VII	A total of 8,188,907 voters were eligible to vote in this phase of election, of which 50,919 were physically disabled and 101,689 were above the age of 80.	<ref name="pib.gov.in" />
VIII	A total of 8,478,274 voters were eligible to vote in this phase of election, of which 72,094 were physically disabled, and 112,440 were above the age of 80.	<ref name="pib.gov.in" />

Incidents

• In February, Jakir Hossain, the MLA from Jangipur and Labour Minister of West Bengal, received serious injuries after bombs were thrown at him in the Nimtita railway station.<ref>"West Bengal minister Jakir Hossain injured in bomb attack in railway station". The Economic Times. 17 February 2021. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.</ref><ref>"West Bengal minister Jakir Hossain injured in crude bomb attack in Murshidabad". India Today. 17 February 2021. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.</ref><ref>"Bengal Minister Jakir Hossain Injured in Bomb Attack, CID Takes Over Probe". NDTV. 18 February 2021. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.</ref>
• On their way to attend the Brigade rally of Sanjukta Morcha, ISF workers attacked TMC activists in Bhangar.<ref>"ব্রিগেডের পথে তৃণমূল কর্মী–সমর্থকদের মেরে মাথা ফাটাল আব্বাস সিদ্দিকীর অনুগামীরা". Hindustan Times Bangla (in Bengali). 28 February 2021. Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2022.</ref>
• On 10 March, Mamata Banerjee filed her nomination at the Haldia sub-divisional office headquarters as the TMC candidate for Nandigram. Around 6:15 pm she was injured when she was leaving the Birulia market area of that constituency. She alleged that she was pushed by "four-five people" who manhandled her and slammed the door of her car on her foot. She was taken to SSKM Hospital in Kolkata for treatment.<ref>"Mamata Banerjee 'attacked' in Nandigram: Key developments". The Times of India. 10 March 2021. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.</ref> BJP MP Subramanian Swamy made a direct call to her office and inquired about her health before giving a statement wishing her good health.<ref>"বিরোধীদের কদর্য মন্তব্য ঘিরে নিন্দার ঝড় উঠল দেশজুড়ে". bartamanpatrika.com (in Bengali). 12 March 2021. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2021.</ref> A day after being injured, Mamata Banerjee released a video message urging people and party workers to be calm and exercise restraint.<ref>"Mamata releases message from hospital, says, 'Please be calm'". Hindustan Times. 11 March 2021. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.</ref><ref>"Mamata Banerjee's Video Message: 'কর্মসূচির কোনও পরিবর্তন হবে না, প্রয়োজনে হুইল চেয়ারে যাব', বার্তা মমতার". bengali.abplive.com. 11 March 2021. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.</ref> Two days after being admitted, she was discharged at the TMC's multiple requests.<ref>"Mamata Banerjee discharged from hospital after 2 days, leaves on wheelchair". ThePrint. 12 March 2021. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.</ref> She alleged that the attack was orchestrated by Adhikari, who denied the claim. Eyewitness Nitai Maity, a sweet shopkeeper, said "[t]he crowd was already there. But as soon as the car arrived, it was as if the area was flooded with people. There was a bit of pushing. In the meantime, Mamata Banerjee had just opened the front door of the car and had just stepped out. Suddenly there was a push from outside and the door closed. Mamata Banerjee suddenly fell to the ground with a severe leg injury."<ref>"দোকানের সামনে ভিড় ছিলই, মমতা গাড়ি থেকে পা নামাতেই আকস্মিক বিষয়টা ঘটে!". TV9 Bangla (in Bengali). 11 March 2021. Archived from the original on 15 July 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.</ref> Medinipur DIG Kunal Agarwal, District Magistrate Bivu Goel, and Superintendent of Police Praveen Prakash went to Birulia Bazar, Nandigram, on Thursday morning to collect eyewitness statements before sending their report to the ECI, whose report on the incident officially ruled out any possibility of foul play and suspended two police officers for being absent from the chief minister's convoy of policemen meant to provide her safety. TMC and BJP workers clashed in front of the DM and the SP. Mamata Banerjee continued to campaign, and the BJP accused of her of trying to gain the voters' sympathy by flaunting her injured leg in an attempt to "[play] the victim card". Some self-proclaimed eyewitnesses claimed that the car door collided with an iron beam embedded on the road, but Firhad Hakim stated that it had no scratches.<ref>"হুইল চেয়ারেই প্রচারে যাব: মমতা | গাড়িতে দাগ নেই কেন, খুঁটি তত্ত্ব উড়িয়ে যুক্তি ফিরহাদের". Bartaman (in Bengali). 12 March 2021. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.</ref><ref>"'গাড়িতে দাগ লাগেনি', নন্দীগ্রাম কাণ্ডে 'স্তম্ভ তত্ত্ব' উড়িয়ে দিল তৃণমূল শীর্ষ নেতৃত্ব". Asianet News Network Pvt Ltd (in Bengali). 11 March 2021. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.</ref> TMC leaders stated that most of those who were giving eyewitness statements were BJP staff members<ref>"'Conspiracy by BJP': TMC's Memorandum to EC Seeks Probe into 'Attack' on Mamata Banerjee". The Wire. 12 March 2021. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.</ref><ref>"BJP conspiracy to kill Mamata Banerjee: TMC to EC". The Indian Express. 13 March 2021. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.</ref> and asked, "If they are really 'eyewitnesses' then why did they go near the Chief Minister's convoy in that crowd (despite being workers of the BJP)?" Paritosh Jana, TMC President of the Birulia region, said, "The BJP had planted some drunken people into the crowd. They attacked the Chief Minister pretending to have a view of her. They pushed the Supremo when she opened the car's door and was about to step out. The CM did not name any political party. She had only spoken of miscreants. But the BJP is opposing in advance. (They are) giving slogans against the CM. We firmly believe that it is the work of the BJP. It's just like 'the loud voice of a thief's mother' (Bangla version of the proverb 'rogues supplant justice')."<ref>"মমতার কনভয়ের কাছে 'প্রত্যক্ষদর্শী' বিজেপি কর্মীরা কেন, প্রশ্ন নন্দীগ্রামে | ডিএম-এসপির সামনেই হাতাহাতি". Bartaman (in Bengali). 12 March 2021. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.</ref>
• On 15 March, Mamata Banerjee claimed that at a political rally in Balarampur that goons were entering through the border of Ajodhya Hills area. She accused the BJP of planning to loot votes by sending goons from outside by trains on the eve of the election in order to intimidate voters.<ref>"'প্রচারে বাধা দিতেই আমার উপর হামলা', বলরামপুরের সভা থেকে বিস্ফোরক মমতা". Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.</ref> On 23 March, she repeated these claims and made demands to seal the border areas.<ref>মণ্ডল, প্রশান্ত পাল , শুভ্রপ্রকাশ. "Bengal Polls: সীমানা সিলের দাবি মমতার". Anandabazar. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)</ref> On 26 February, Kolkata TV had reported on BJP workers entering West Bengal from the Hindi Belt. Each of them was given 300 rupees per day.<ref>"আপনার কথা". KOLKATA TV. Archived from the original on 29 June 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021 – via YouTube.</ref> On 29 April, some miscreants with firearms were caught on Kolkata TV cameras in Birbhum. They claimed to be outsiders and said that they were hired to do this for 10,000 rupees.<ref>"ভিনরাজ্যের ভাড়া করা দুষ্কৃতী". KOLKATA TV. Archived from the original on 29 June 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021 – via YouTube.</ref>)
• In Baruipur, a TMC activist was killed in clash with members of CPI(M) and ISF.<ref>"TMC worker killed in clash with CPI(M)-ISF; five arrested". The New Indian Express. 25 March 2021. Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2022.</ref><ref>"West Bengal: TMC worker killed in clash with CPI(M)-ISF in South 24 Parganas district; 5 arrested". IndiaTV News. 25 March 2021. Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2022.</ref><ref>"TMC worker killed in clash with ISF and Left; 5 arrested". Asianet Newsable. 26 March 2021. Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2022.</ref>
• Before the first phase of election, an election vehicle was set on fire by two unknown men.<ref>"Bengal Polls 2021: Car on duty for first phase election set ablaze". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 26 March 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.</ref>
• On 25 March, state BJP president Dilip Ghosh made derogatory comments against Mamata Banerjee from a political rally in Purulia for which he was issued a notice by the ECI. He raised questions on her character due to her unmarried status and stated that if she wants to flaunt her injured leg before the public to gain political dividends, then she should wear bermuda shorts (euphemism for underwear in Indian English) instead of a saree.<ref>"'Wear Bermudas to show injured leg : BJP leader Dilip Ghosh to Mamata Banerjee". The Times of India. 25 March 2021.</ref>
• On 27 March, the day of first phase polling, TMC supporters protested outside booth 172 of Majna of the South Contai seat, alleging electronic voting machine malfunction. They alleged that casting a vote for TMC displayed the lotus sign of BJP. Similar allegations came from the closest booth to it.<ref>"'তৃণমূলে ভোট দিলে পড়ছে বিজেপিতে', দক্ষিণ কাঁথির মাজনায় বিক্ষোভ শাসক দলের". Asianet News Network Pvt Ltd. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.</ref><ref>"South Kanthi: Electorates allege VVPAT error, say all votes going to BJP". millenniumpost.in. 29 March 2021. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.</ref><ref>"চূড়ান্ত পরাজয় সুনিশ্চিত বিজেপির". 27 March 2021. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021 – via YouTube.</ref>
• Two security personnel were reportedly injured in Satsatmal village, Purba Medinipur district, in a firing and bombing incident during phase 1 of polling.<ref>"Bengal polls: 2 security personnel injured in bombing in Purba Medinipur". Business Standard India. 27 March 2021. Archived from the original on 27 March 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2021.</ref>
• A BJP worker's dead body was found in Paschim Medinipur during the first phase of election.<ref>Rajaram, Prema (27 March 2021). "BJP worker's body found in West Midnapore as district goes to polls in first phase of Bengal election". India Today. Archived from the original on 27 March 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.</ref> The ECI said that they did not find any political motive in his death.<ref>"One political party worker is killed every two days in Bengal". 3 April 2021. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.</ref>
• Three TMC activists were injured in a blast in Bankura during the first phase of elections.<ref>"West Bengal polls: 3 TMC workers injured in blast in Bankura ahead of first phase". Scroll.in. 27 March 2021. Archived from the original on 27 March 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.</ref>
• Three TMC workers were attacked in Boyal of Nandigram. One of them, Rabin Manna, was admitted to SSKM Hospital with serious injuries, and died on 9 April around 4:30 am at SSKM Hospital.<ref>"Nandigram: ১৪ দিনের লড়াই শেষ, মৃত্যু হল নন্দীগ্রামের তৃণমূল কর্মী রবীন মান্নার". News18 Bangla. 9 April 2021. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.</ref> On 31 March, Mamata Banerjee said that her car was attacked again in Nandigram a day ago when she visited Manna's house.<ref>"Mamata Banerjee Alleges "Attack" In Nandigram Again, Says Has Proof". NDTV. 31 March 2021. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.</ref><ref>"Mamata Banerjee claims her car was attacked again in Nandigram, says she has evidence". Scroll.in. 31 March 2021. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.</ref><ref>"সিঙ্গুরের সভা থেকে পুরোনো স্মৃতি উস্কে দিলেন মমতা, তোপ বিজেপি-সিপিএমকে, ভোট বাক্সে প্রভাব পড়বে কি". bangla.asianetnews.com (in Bengali). 31 March 2021. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.</ref><ref>"Bengal Polls: ভোট মিটে গেলে দেখব কত ধানে কত চাল, গোঘাট থেকে হুঙ্কার মমতার". Anandabazar (in Bengali). 31 March 2021. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.</ref><ref>"'দুধ কলা দিয়ে কালসাপ পুষেছি', শুভেন্দুকে নাম না করে আক্রমণ মমতার". Ei Samay (in Bengali). 31 March 2021. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.</ref> She later claimed she was informed by Manna's wife that BJP-backed goons were threatening to abduct her daughter and they had to take refuge with a local minority family.<ref>"Bengal Polls: নন্দীগ্রামের ভোটে মেয়ে আর শিশুদের অপহরণের ভয় দেখিয়েছে বিজেপি, অভিযোগ মমতার". Anandabazar (in Bengali). 3 April 2021. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.</ref>
• In Dantan, it was reported that the CPRF prevented people from voting. A complaint was lodged at a local police station that alleged that the CPRF were allowing BJP workers to stay in the booth and cast votes in their name.<ref>S, Meghnad; Sanyal, Parikshit (28 March 2021). "Dantan diary: Investigating election day violence in Bengal". Newslaundry. Archived from the original on 28 March 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.</ref>
• While on an official visit to Bangladesh, Modi visited the birthplace of Harichand Thakur at Orakandi in the Gopalganj district in an attempt to woo the electorally influential Matua community of the state. Mamata Banerjee asserted his trip to Orakandi is a violation of the poll code.<ref>"PM Modi's Bangladesh visit violates poll code, says Mamata Banerjee". India Today. 27 March 2021. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.</ref><ref>""Your Visa Should Be Cancelled": Mamata Banerjee on PM's Bangladesh Trip". NDTV. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.</ref>
• On 28 March, the ECI stated that 56 bombs were seized from Narendrapur of South 24 Parganas district.<ref>"56 bombs found in Bengal, says ECI". The Hindu. 28 March 2021. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 28 March 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.</ref>
• During the nomination filing by the BJP candidate in Bijpur, gunshots were fired and later clashes broke out between BJP and TMC staff.<ref>"Firing in Bengal's Barrackpore During Filing of Nomination By BJP Candidate". NDTV. Archived from the original on 31 March 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2021.</ref>
• On 30 March, Ashok Dinda, BJP's candidate from Moyna, Purba Medinipur, was attacked and his vehicle vandalised during a campaign. He claimed that hundreds of people wielding lathi and rods hurled stones at his vehicle. Dinda's shoulder was injured.<ref>"Ex-cricketer Ashok Dinda Attacked During Election Campaign in West Bengal's Purba Medinipur". news18.com. 30 March 2021. Archived from the original on 30 March 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.</ref>
• On 2 April, the West Bengal Police seized 41 crude bombs in Bhangar.<ref>"41 crude bombs recovered in West Bengal: EC". The Hindu. 3 April 2021. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 3 April 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2021.</ref>
• During the third phase of polling (6 April), Sujata Mondal, TMC candidate in Arambag, was attacked by some goons at Arandi-I booth 263.<ref>Saha, Poulomi; Roy, Suryagni (6 April 2021). "Arambagh TMC candidate attacked with bricks, Mamata says 'they say Beti Bachao, but beat up women'". India Today. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.</ref><ref>"TMC candidate Sujata Mondal attacked in Mahallapara, MP Derek O'Brien writes to EC to apprehend 'BJP goons'". Times Now. 6 April 2021. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.</ref><ref>"আরামবাগের প্রার্থী সুজাতা মন্ডল-কে আক্রমণ বিজেপির". 6 April 2021. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021 – via YouTube.</ref>
• During the third phase of polling, electronic voting machines and VVPAT machines were found in the house of a TMC politician of North Uluberia. The sector officer was later suspended.<ref>"EVMs, VVPATs found from TMC leader's home in West Bengal, sector officer suspended". Hindustan Times. 6 April 2021. Archived from the original on 6 April 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.</ref>
• The TMC accused the BJP of distributing cash coupons among people to lure them to attend Modi's rally.<ref>"BJP distributing cash coupons: TMC". The Hindu. 7 April 2021. Archived from the original on 14 November 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2021.</ref><ref>"TMC writes to EC, accuses BJP of distributing Rs 1,000 coupons among voters in Bengal". India Today. 7 April 2021. Archived from the original on 14 November 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2021.</ref>
• In the fourth phase of polling, there were two major instances of violence, both in the Sitalkuchi constituency of the Cooch Behar district. In Pathantuli, a first-time voter, Ananda Barman, was shot and killed by unknown assailants after casting his vote. Both BJP and TMC claimed he was one of their workers, but family members said he was a belonged to BJP.<ref>"Political storm erupts after 5 killed during Bengal poll including 4 in CISF firing". The Financial Express. 10 April 2021. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.</ref> In Sitalkuchi, CISF personnel who were guarding a polling station in Jorepatki shot and killed four Muslim villagers, who they alleged were part of a mob attacking them. They claimed the mob attacked them over rumours the security forces had thrashed a local boy and they fired in self-defence. The families of the deceased claimed the firing was deliberate, and that they were in a queue to vote.<ref>"Bengal's Sitalkuchi village plunges in gloom as firing victims taken for burial". Hindustan Times. 11 April 2021. Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.</ref><ref>Bhattacharya, Pinak Priya (11 April 2021). "Sitalkuchi victims' kin trash CISF self-defence claims". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.</ref> Media staff found video footage from local sources,<ref>"West Bengal Election 2021: চলল গুলি, চারিদিকে আর্ত চিত্কার, দেখুন শীতলকুচি গুলিকাণ্ডের ভাইরাল ভিডিও". 14 April 2021. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021 – via YouTube.</ref> but Special Police Observer Vivek Dubey called it fake without citing any proper reason.<ref>"চতুর্থ স্তম্ভ : বিবেকের বুদ্ধি লোপ (16/04/2021)". KOLKATA TV. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021 – via YouTube.</ref>
• On 8 April the ECI issued a notice to Adhikari for communal overtones in his 29 March speech in Nandigram, where he derogatorily referred Mamata Banerjee (who is unmarried) as begum ("a married Muslim woman", thereby indicating that she was characterless).<ref>"নন্দীগ্রামে উস্কানিমূলক মন্তব্যের জের, শুভেন্দুকেও নোটিস ধরাল কমিশন". aajkaal.in (in Bengali). 9 April 2021. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.</ref><ref>"West Bengal Assembly Elections &#124; EC notice to Suvendu Adhikari over hate speech complaint". The Hindu. 9 April 2021. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.</ref><ref>"EC notice to Suvendu Adhikari for communal overtones in his speech". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 8 April 2021. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021 – via Business Standard.</ref> In his reply to the ECI notice, Adhikari claimed that he never made any personal attack or derogatory remarks against any political leader, but on 13 April, the ECI issued another warning to him for making derogatory statements in his speech.<ref>Paliwal, Aishwarya (14 April 2021). "Bengal polls: EC issues warning to Suvendu Adhikari for making derogatory statements in Nandigram speech". India Today. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.</ref>
• On 12 April, the ECI imposed a 24-hour campaign ban on Mamata Banerjee (effective from 8 pm) for calling out female voters to gherao (or encircle) the CRPF, CAPF and CISF forces on election duty if they "created any obstruction in their right to vote" from a political rally in Cooch Behar district.<ref>Saha, Poulomi (13 April 2021). "Bengal polls: 24-hour campaign ban on Mamata Banerjee for inciting voters to 'gherao CAPF'". India Today. Archived from the original on 2 July 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.</ref> The next day, the TMC Supremo staged a solitary dharna next to the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the Mayo Road crossing in Kolkata to protest against the ECI's decision.<ref>"Mamata Banerjee sitting on dharna against EC campaign ban paints a picture. Literally". India Today. 14 April 2021. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.</ref><ref>"Bengal Election Highlights: After 24-hour ban, Mamata set to visit Cooch Behar tomorrow for poll program". India Today. 13 April 2021. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.</ref> On the same day, the ECI let Adhikari go with only a warning after he commented that voting in favour of Mamata Banerjee would convert West Bengal into a "mini-Pakistan", which led the TMC to allege that the ECI was operating in a biased manner to benefit BJP.<ref>"Light Warning For BJP's Suvendu Adhikari For "Mini Pakistan" Remark". NDTV. 13 April 2021. Archived from the original on 14 November 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2021.</ref><ref>"'Mini-Pakistan': EC Lets Off BJP's Suvendu Adhikari With Light Rap for Remark". The Wire. 13 April 2021. Archived from the original on 14 November 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2021.</ref>
• On 13 April, the ECI imposed a 48-hour campaign ban on former state BJP president Rahul Sinha for endorsing the killing of Muslims in the Sitalkuchi firing incident, and calling for more Muslims to be killed throughout the state in similar manner.<ref>"Sitalkuchi firing: EC bars BJP leader for 48 hours, notice to state chief". indianexpress.com. 13 April 2021. Archived from the original on 15 August 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2021.</ref>
• On the night before the fifth phase, a picture of the BJP candidate for Ranaghat having lunch with central forces spread on the internet.<ref>সেন, আত্রেয়ী (16 April 2021). "কেন্দ্রীয় বাহিনীর সঙ্গে একই টেবিলে মধ্যাহ্নভোজ রানাঘাট উত্তর-পূর্বের বিজেপি প্রার্থীর! কমিশনে তৃণমূল". Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.</ref><ref>"বাহিনীর সঙ্গে ভোজ বিজেপি প্রার্থীর". Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021 – via YouTube.</ref>
• In the fifth phase of polling, in the Shantinagar locality of Bidhannagar, bricks and stones were hurled between TMC and BJP booth workers, leaving eight people injured.<ref>"Sporadic violence marks fifth phase of Bengal polls". The Times of India. 17 April 2021. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.</ref><ref>"TMC, BJP candidates pelt stones at each other in Bengal's Bidhannagar amid polling". India Today. 17 April 2021. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.</ref>
• BJP candidate Gopal Chandra Saha was shot at while campaigning in Maldaha, and was admitted to a hospital.<ref>"West Bengal: BJP's Malda candidate shot at while campaigning". India Today. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.</ref>
• In Jalpaiguri, after polling ended, four BJP agents were found with central force personnel carrying electronic voting machines.<ref>"ইভিএমের গাড়িতে বিজেপির এজেন্ট! | জলপাইগুড়িতে তোলপাড়, কমিশনে নালিশ তৃণমূলের". Bartaman (in Bengali). 19 April 2021. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2021.</ref>
• On 24 April, Mamata Banerjee revealed details of the WhatsApp chat of an election observer employed by the ECI with BJP leaders, and said, "The Commission is instructing to arrest our party leaders before the [day of] election. I have WhatsApp chat of everything. Observers have spoken among themselves [about this]." She advised Anubrata Mandal, TMC's Birbhum district president, to go to the courts if the commission wrongfully keeps him under surveillance.<ref>সংবাদদাতা, নিজস্ব. "Bengal Election: মমতা প্রকাশ্যে আনলেন পর্যবেক্ষকদের হোয়াটসঅ্যাপ চ্যাটের বিস্তারিত নথি". Anandabazar. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.</ref><ref>সংবাদদাতা, নিজস্ব. "Bengal Election: কমিশন 'নজরবন্দি' রাখলে কেষ্টকে আদালতে যাওয়ার পরামর্শ মমতার". Anandabazar. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.</ref> The ECI put Mondal under "strict surveillance" for 62 hours from 5 pm on 27 April to 7 am on 30 April.<ref>"Anubrata Mondal under 'strict watch' till 7am Friday, may move Calcutta HC". The Times of India. 28 April 2021. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.</ref>)
• On 29 April, during the eighth phase of voting, crude bombs were hurled near Mahajati Sadan in northern Kolkata.<ref>"West Bengal Elections 2021 Live Updates: Bomb Hurled in North Kolkata, EC Seeks Details". News18. 2 May 2021. Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.</ref>

Results

The election results for 292 constituencies was announced on 2 May 2021 after counting of votes began at 8:00 am (UTC+5:30), while the results for 2 constituencies was delayed until 3 October.<ref name=Constituencywise56>"Election Commission of India". results.eci.gov.in. Archived from the original on 3 October 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021.</ref><ref name=Roundwise56>"Election Commission of India". results.eci.gov.in. Archived from the original on 3 October 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021.</ref><ref name=Constituencywise58>"Election Commission of India". results.eci.gov.in. Archived from the original on 3 October 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021.</ref><ref name=Roundwise58>"Election Commission of India". results.eci.gov.in. Archived from the original on 3 October 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021.</ref><ref name=partywiseb>"Election Commission of India". results.eci.gov.in. Archived from the original on 3 October 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021.</ref>

215	1	77	1
<span style="color:#20C646;">AITC</span>	<span style="color:#FF2561;">GJM(T)</span>	<span style="color:#FF9933;">BJP</span>	<span style="color:#0204ef;">ISF</span>

Vote share by alliance

  AITC+ (48.02%)

  NDA (37.97%)

  SM (10.04%)

  NOTA (1.08%)

  Others (2.88%)

Results by party

• Declared on 2 May 2021:<ref>"Boothwise Result – Form 20". Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal. Archived from the original on 16 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.</ref>

Party/alliance				Popular vote			Seats
				Votes	%	±pp	Contested	Won	+/−
	AITC+		Trinamool Congress (AITC)	28,735,420	48.02	3.11	290	215	4
			Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) (T) Faction	163,797	0.27		3	1	1
			Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) (G) Faction	103,190	0.17		3	0	3
		Total		29,002,407	48.46		294	216
	NDA		Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)	22,850,710	37.97	27.81	293	77	74
			All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU)	61,936	0.1		1	0
		Total		22,912,646	37.98		294	77
	Sanjukta Morcha
			Indian Secular Front (ISF)	813,489	1.36		32	1	1
			Indian National Congress (INC)	1,757,131	2.93	9.32	91	0	44
			Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM)	2,837,276	4.73	15.02	138	0	26
			All India Forward Bloc (AIFB)	318,932	0.53		21	0	3
			Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP)	126,121	0.21		10	0	2
			Communist Party of India (CPI)	118,655	0.20		10	0	1
		Total		5,971,604	10.04		294	1
	NOTA			646,829	1.08
Total				59,935,989	100.0			292	±0
Valid votes				59,935,989	99.84
Invalid votes				96,674	0.16
Votes cast / turnout				60,032,663	82.32
Abstentions				12,891,443	17.68
Registered voters				73,414,746<br>

• Declared on 3 October 2021:<ref>"Form 20 – 56 Samserganj AC" (PDF). Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 November 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2021.</ref><ref>"Form 20 – 58 Jangipur AC" (PDF). Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 November 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2021.</ref>

Political parties		Results of remaining Constituencies<br>(declared on 3 October)				Complete results of 294 Constituencies
		Popular vote		Seats		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	Contested	Won	Votes	%	±pp	Contested	Won	+/−
	AITC	232,861	60.19	2	2	28,968,281	48.02		290	215	4
	BJP	54,764	14.16	2	0	22,905,474	37.97		293	77	74
	CPI(M)	6,158	1.59	1	0	2,843,434	4.71		139	0	26
	INC	70,038	18.10	1	0	1,827,169	3.03		92	0	44
	RSP	9,067	2.34	1	0	135,188	0.22		11	0	2
	NOTA	7,621	1.97			654,449	1.08
Total		386,845	100.00	2		60,322,834	100.00		294
Valid votes		386,845	99.95			60,322,834	99.84
Invalid votes		183	0.05			96,857	0.16
Votes cast / turnout		387,028	78.88			60,419,691	82.30
Abstentions		103,614	21.12			12,995,057	17.70
Registered voters		490,642<br><ref name=bartaman_159/><ref name=ndtv_159/>	100.00			73,414,746	100.00

Results by polling phase

Phase	Seats
		AITC+	NDA	SDA
First	30	18	12	0
Second	30	19	11	0
Third	31	27	4	0
Fourth	44	31	12	1
Fifth	45	28	17	0
Sixth	43	35	8	0
Seventh	34	25	9	0
Eighth	35	31	4	0
Later	2	2	0	0
Total	294	216	77	1

Results by region

Region	District	Seats
			AITC+		NDA		SDA
			Won	+/-	Won	+/-	Won	+/-
North Bengal	Cooch Behar	9	2	6	7	7	0	1
	Alipurduar	5	0	4	5	4	0
	Jalpaiguri	7	3	3	4	4	0	1
	Kalimpong	1	1	1	0	1	0
	Darjeeling	5	0		5	3	0	3
	Uttar Dinajpur	9	7	3	2	2	0	5
	Dakshin Dinajpur	6	3	1	3	3	0	4
	Malda	12	8	8	4	3	0	11
Total		54	24		30	25	0	25
South Bengal	Murshidabad	22	20	16	2	2	0	18
	Nadia	17	8	5	9	9	0	4
	North 24 Parganas	33	28	1	5	5	0	6
	South 24 Parganas	31	30	1	0		1	1
	Kolkata	11	11		0		0
	Howrah	16	16	1	0		0	1
	Hooghly	18	14	2	4	4	0	2
	Purba Medinipur	16	9	4	7	7	0	3
	Paschim Medinipur	15	13		2	1	0	1
	Jhargram	4	4		0		0
Total		183	153	8	29	28	1	36
Rarh Banga	Purulia	9	3	4	6	6	0	2
	Bankura	12	4	3	8	8	0	5
	Purba Bardhaman	16	16	2	0		0	2
	Paschim Bardhaman	9	6	1	3	3	0	4
	Birbhum	11	10	1	1	1	0	2
Total		57	39	3	18	18	0	15
Total		294	216	5	77	71	1	76

Results by constituency

Main article: List of constituency wise results of 2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election

Constituency		Winner					Runner-up					Margin
No.	Name	Candidate	Party		Votes	%	Candidate	Party		Votes	%
<span style="color:white;">Cooch Behar district</span>
1	Mekliganj (SC)	Paresh Chandra Adhikary		Trinamool Congress	99,338	49.98	Dadhiram Ray		BJP	84,653	42.59	14,685
2	Mathabhanga (SC)	Sushil Barman		BJP	1,13,249	52.87	Girindra Nath Barman		Trinamool Congress	87,115	40.67	26,134
3	Cooch Behar Uttar (SC)	Sukumar Roy		BJP	1,20,483	49.40	Binay Krishna Barman		Trinamool Congress	1,05,868	43.40	14,615
4	Cooch Behar Dakshin	Nikhil Ranjan Dey		BJP	96,629	46.83	Avijit De Bhowmik		Trinamool Congress	91,830	44.31	4,799
5	Sitalkuchi (SC)	Baren Chandra Barman		BJP	1,24,955	50.80	Partha Pratim Ray		Trinamool Congress	1,07,140	43.56	17,815
6	Sitai (SC)	Jagadish Barma Basunia		Trinamool Congress	1,17,908	49.42	Dipak Kumar Roy		BJP	1,07,796	45.18	10,112
7	Dinhata	Nisith Pramanik		BJP	1,16,035	47.60	Udayan Guha		Trinamool Congress	1,15,978	47.58	57
8	Natabari	Mihir Goswami		BJP	1,11,743	51.45	Rabindra Nath Ghosh		Trinamool Congress	88,303	40.66	23,440
9	Tufanganj	Malati Rava Roy		BJP	1,14,503	54.69	Pranab Kumar Dey		Trinamool Congress	83,305	39.79	31,198
<span style="color:white;">Alipurduar district</span>
10	Kumargram (ST)	Manoj Kumar Oraon		BJP	1,11,974	48.16	Leos Kujar		Trinamool Congress	1,00,973	43.43	11,001
11	Kalchini (ST)	Bishal Lama		BJP	1,03,104	52.65	Pasang Lama		Trinamool Congress	74,528	38.06	28,576
12	Alipurduars	Suman Kanjilal		BJP	1,07,333	48.19	Sourav Chakraborty		Trinamool Congress	91,326	41.00	16,007
13	Falakata	Dipak Barman		BJP	1,02,993	46.71	Subhash Chanda Roy		Trinamool Congress	99,003	44.90	3,990
14	Madarihat	Manoj Tigga		BJP	90,718	54.35	Rajesh Lakra		Trinamool Congress	61,033	36.56	29,685
<span style="color:white;">Jalpaiguri district</span>
15	Dhupguri (SC)	Bishnu Pada Ray		BJP	1,04,688	45.64	Mitali Roy		Trinamool Congress	1,00,333	43.75	4,355
16	Maynaguri (SC)	Kaushik Roy		BJP	1,15,306	48.84	Manoj Roy		Trinamool Congress	1,03,395	43.79	11,911
17	Jalpaiguri (SC)	Pradip Kumar Barma		Trinamool Congress	95,668	42.34	Sujit Singha		BJP	94,727	41.93	941
18	Rajganj (SC)	Khageswar Roy		Trinamool Congress	1,04,641	48.50	Supen Roy		BJP	88,868	41.19	15,773
19	Dabgram-Phulbari	Shikha Chatterjee		BJP	1,29,088	49.85	Goutam Deb		Trinamool Congress	1,01,495	39.19	27,593
20	Mal (ST)	Bulu Chik Baraik		Trinamool Congress	99,086	46.46	Mahesh Bagey		BJP	93,621	43.90	5,465
21	Nagrakata (ST)	Puna Bhengra		BJP	70,945	47.78	Joseph Munda		Trinamool Congress	56,543	38.08	14,402
<span style="color:white;">Kalimpong district</span>
22	Kalimpong	Ruden Sada Lepcha		GJM(T)	58,206	37.59	Suva Pradhan		BJP	54,336	35.09	3,870
<span style="color:white;">Darjeeling district</span>
23	Darjeeling	Neeraj Zimba		BJP	68,907	40.88	Keshav Raj Sharma		GJM(T)	47,631	28.26	21,726
24	Kurseong	Bishnu Prasad Sharma		BJP	73,475	41.86	Tshering Lama Dahal		GJM(T)	57,960	33.02	15,515
25	Matigara-Naxalbari (SC)	Anandamoy Barman		BJP	1,39,785	58.10	Rajen Sundas		Trinamool Congress	68,454	28.65	70,848
26	Siliguri	Shankar Ghosh		BJP	89,370	50.03	Om Prakash Mishra		Trinamool Congress	53,784	30.11	35,586
27	Phansidewa (ST)	Durga Murmu		BJP	1,05,651	50.89	Choton Kisku		Trinamool Congress	77,940	37.55	27,711
<span style="color:white;">Uttar Dinajpur district</span>
28	Chopra	Hamidul Rahman		Trinamool Congress	1,24,923	61.20	Mohammad Shahin Akhtar		BJP	59,604	29.40	65,319
29	Islampur	Abdul Karim Chowdhury		Trinamool Congress	1,00,131	58.91	Saumya Roop Mandal		BJP	62,691	36.88	37,440
30	Goalpokhar	Mohammad Ghulam Rabbani		Trinamool Congress	1,05,649	65.40	Ghulam Sarwar		BJP	32,135	19.89	73,514
31	Chakulia	Minhajul Arfin Azad		Trinamool Congress	86,311	49.78	Sachin Prasad		BJP	52,474	30.26	33,837
32	Karandighi	Goutam Paul		Trinamool Congress	1,16,594	54.70	Subhash Singha		BJP	79,968	37.52	36,626
33	Hemtabad (SC)	Satyajit Barman		Trinamool Congress	1,16,425	52.14	Chandima Roy		BJP	89,210	39.95	27,215
34	Kaliaganj (SC)	Soumen Roy		BJP	1,16,768	48.71	Tapan Dev Singha		Trinamool Congress	94,948	39.61	21,820
35	Raiganj	Krishna Kalyani		BJP	79,775	49.44	Kanaia Lal Agarwal		Trinamool Congress	59,027	36.58	20,748
36	Itahar	Mosarraf Hossain		Trinamool Congress	1,14,645	59.10	Amit Kumar Kundu		BJP	70,670	36.43	43,975
<span style="color:white;">Dakshin Dinajpur district</span>
37	Kushmandi (SC)	Rekha Roy		Trinamool Congress	89,968	48.88	Ranjit Kumar Roy		BJP	77,384	42.08	12,584
38	Kumarganj	Toraf Hossain Mandal		Trinamool Congress	89,117	52.58	Manas Sarkar		BJP	59,736	35.24	29,381
39	Balurghat	Ashok Lahiri		BJP	70,484	47.25	Shekhar Dasgupta		Trinamool Congress	57,585	38.60	12,899
40	Tapan (ST)	Budhrai Tudu		BJP	84,381	45.29	Kalpana Kisku		Trinamool Congress	82,731	44.41	1,650
41	Gangarampur (SC)	Satyendra Nath Ray		BJP	88,724	46.82	Goutam Das		Trinamool Congress	84,132	44.40	4,592
42	Harirampur	Biplab Mitra		Trinamool Congress	96,131	51.23	Nilanjan Roy		BJP	73,459	39.15	22,672
<span style="color:white;">Malda district</span>
43	Habibpur (ST)	Joyel Murmu		BJP	94,075	47.52	Pradip Baskey		Trinamool Congress	74,558	37.66	19,517
44	Gazole (SC)	Chinmoy Deb Barman		BJP	1,00,131	45.50	Basanti Barman		Trinamool Congress	98,857	44.69	1,798
45	Chanchal	Nihar Ranjan Ghosh		Trinamool Congress	1,15,966	58.08	Dipankar Ram		BJP	48,628	24.35	67,338
46	Harishchandrapur	Tajmul Hossain		Trinamool Congress	1,22,527	60.31	Matibur Rahaman		BJP	45,054	22.18	77,473
47	Malatipur	Abdur Rahim Bakshi		Trinamool Congress	1,26,157	68.02	Mousumi Das		BJP	34,208	18.44	91,949
48	Ratua	Samar Mukherjee		Trinamool Congress	1,30,674	59.63	Abhishek Singhania		BJP	55,024	25.11	75,650
49	Manikchak	Sabitri Mitra		Trinamool Congress	1,10,234	53.26	Gour Chandra Mandal		BJP	76,356	36.89	33,878
50	Maldaha	Gopal Chandra Saha		BJP	93,998	45.23	Ujjwal Kumar Chowdhury		Trinamool Congress	77,942	37.75	15,456
51	English Bazar	Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhury		BJP	1,07,755	49.96	Krishnendu Choudhury		Trinamool Congress	87,656	40.64	20,099
52	Mothabari	Sabina Yeasmin		Trinamool Congress	97,397	59.70	Shyamchand Ghosh		BJP	40,824	25.02	56,573
53	Sujapur	Muhammad Abdul Ghani		Trinamool Congress	1,52,445	73.44	Isha Khan Choudhury		INC	22,282	10.73	1,30,163
54	Baisnabnagar	Chandana Sarkar		Trinamool Congress	83,061	39.81	Swadhin Kumar Sarkar		BJP	80,590	38.62	2,471
<span style="color:white;">Murshidabad district</span>
55	Farakka	Manirul Islam		Trinamool Congress	1,02,319	54.89	Hemanta Ghosh		BJP	42,374	22.73	59,945
56	Samserganj<ref name=Constituencywise56/><ref name=Roundwise56/><ref name=partywiseb/>	Amirul Islam		Trinamool Congress	96,417	51.13	Zaidur Rahaman		INC	70,038	37.14	26,379
57	Suti	Emani Biswas		Trinamool Congress	1,27,351	58.87	Koushik Das		BJP	56,650	26.19	70,701
58	Jangipur<ref name=Constituencywise58/><ref name=Roundwise58/><ref name=partywiseb/>	Jakir Hossain		Trinamool Congress	1,36,444	68.82	Sujit Das		BJP	43,964	22.17	92,480
59	Raghunathganj	Akhruzzaman		Trinamool Congress	1,26,834	66.59	Ghulam Modaswar		BJP	28,521	14.97	98,313
60	Sagardighi	Subrata Saha		Trinamool Congress	95,189	50.95	Mafuja Khatun		BJP	44,983	24.08	50,206
61	Lalgola	Mohammad Ali		Trinamool Congress	1,07,860	56.64	Abu Hena		INC	47,153	24.76	60,707
62	Bhagabangola	Idris Ali		Trinamool Congress	1,53,795	68.05	Mohammad Kamal Hossain		CPI (M)	47,787	21.15	1,06,008
63	Raninagar	Abdul Soumik Hossain		Trinamool Congress	1,34,957	60.79	Firoza Begam		INC	55,255	24.89	79,702
64	Murshidabad	Gouri Shankar Ghosh		BJP	95,967	41.86	Shaoni Singha Roy		Trinamool Congress	93,476	40.78	2,491
65	Nabagram (SC)	Kanai Chandra Mondal		Trinamool Congress	1,00,455	48.18	Mohan Halder		BJP	64,922	31.14	35,533
66	Khargram (SC)	Ashish Marjit		Trinamool Congress	93,255	50.15	Aditya Moulik		BJP	60,682	32.64	32,573
67	Burwan (SC)	Jiban Krishna Saha		Trinamool Congress	81,890	46.32	Amiya Kumar Das		BJP	79,141	44.76	2,749
68	Kandi	Apurba Sarkar		Trinamool Congress	95,399	51.16	Goutam Roy		BJP	57,319	30.74	38,080
69	Bharatpur	Humayun Kabir		Trinamool Congress	96,226	50.90	Iman Kalyan Mukherjee		BJP	53,143	28.11	43,083
70	Rejinagar	Rabiul Alam Chowdhury		Trinamool Congress	1,18,494	56.31	Arabinda Biswas		BJP	50,226	23.87	68,268
71	Beldanga	Sheikh Hasanuzzaman		Trinamool Congress	1,12,862	55.19	Sumit Ghosh		BJP	59,030	28.86	53,832
72	Baharampur	Subrata Maitra		BJP	89,340	45.21	Naru Gopal Mukherjee		Trinamool Congress	62,488	31.62	26,852
73	Hariharpara	Niamot Sheikh		Trinamool Congress	1,02,660	47.51	Mir Alamgir		INC	88,594	41.00	14,066
74	Naoda	Sahina Mumtaz Begum		Trinamool Congress	1,17,684	58.16	Anupam Mondal		BJP	43,531	21.51	74,153
75	Domkal	Jafikul Islam		Trinamool Congress	1,27,671	56.45	Mostafizur Rahaman		CPI (M)	80,442	35.57	47,229
76	Jalangi	Abdur Razzak		Trinamool Congress	1,23,840	55.74	Saiful Islam Molla		CPI (M)	44,564	20.06	79,276
<span style="color:white;">Nadia district</span>
77	Karimpur	Bimalendu Sinha Roy		Trinamool Congress	1,10,911	50.07	Samarendra Nath Ghosh		BJP	87,336	39.43	23,575
78	Tehatta	Tapas Kumar Saha		Trinamool Congress	97,848	44.86	Ashutosh Paul		BJP	90,933	41.69	6,915
79	Palashipara	Manik Bhattacharya		Trinamool Congress	1,10,274	54.22	Bibhash Chandra Mandal		BJP	58,938	28.98	51,336
80	Kaliganj	Nasiruddin Ahamed		Trinamool Congress	1,11,696	53.35	Abhijit Ghosh		BJP	64,709	30.91	46,987
81	Nakashipara	Kallol Khan		Trinamool Congress	1,04,812	50.01	Santanu Dey		BJP	83,541	39.86	21,271
82	Chapra	Rukbanur Rahman		Trinamool Congress	73,866	34.65	Jeber Sheikh		Independent	61,748	28.97	12,118
83	Krishnanagar Uttar	Mukul Roy		BJP	1,09,357	54.19	Koushani Mukherjee		Trinamool Congress	74,268	36.80	35,089
84	Nabadwip	Pundarikakshya Saha		Trinamool Congress	1,02,170	48.52	Siddharth Shankar Naskar		BJP	83,599	39.70	18,571
85	Krishnanagar Dakshin	Ujjal Biswas		Trinamool Congress	91,738	46.88	Mahadev Sarkar		BJP	82,433	42.13	9,305
86	Santipur	Jagannath Sarkar		BJP	1,09,722	49.94	Ajoy Dey		Trinamool Congress	93,844	42.72	15,878
87	Ranaghat Uttar Paschim	Parthasarathi Chatterjee		BJP	1,13,637	50.91	Shankar Singha		Trinamool Congress	90,509	40.55	23,128
88	Krishnaganj (SC)	Ashish Kumar Biswas		BJP	1,17,668	50.73	Tapas Mandal		Trinamool Congress	96,391	41.56	21,277
89	Ranaghat Uttar Purba (SC)	Ashim Biswas		BJP	1,16,786	54.39	Samir Kumar Poddar		Trinamool Congress	85,004	39.59	31,782
90	Ranaghat Dakshin (SC)	Mukut Mani Adhikari		BJP	1,19,260	49.34	Barnali Dey Roy		Trinamool Congress	1,02,745	42.51	16,515
91	Chakdaha	Bankim Chandra Ghosh		BJP	99,368	46.86	Subhankar Singha		Trinamool Congress	87,688	41.35	11,680
92	Kalyani (SC)	Ambika Roy		BJP	97,026	44.04	Aniruddha Biswas		Trinamool Congress	94,820	43.03	2,206
93	Haringhata (SC)	Ashim Kumar Sarkar		BJP	97,666	46.31	Nilima Nag		Trinamool Congress	82,466	39.11	15,200
<span style="color:white;">North 24 Parganas district</span>
94	Bagda (SC)	Biswajit Das		BJP	1,08,111	49.41	Paritosh Kumar Saha		Trinamool Congress	98,319	44.94	9,792
95	Bangaon Uttar (SC)	Ashok Kirtania		BJP	97,761	47.65	Shyamal Roy		Trinamool Congress	87,273	42.54	10,488
96	Bangaon Dakshin (SC)	Swapan Majumder		BJP	97,828	47.07	Alo Rani Sarkar		Trinamool Congress	95,824	46.11	2,004
97	Gaighata (SC)	Subrata Thakur		BJP	1,00,808	47.27	Narottam Biswas		Trinamool Congress	91,230	42.78	9,578
98	Swarupnagar (SC)	Bina Mondal		Trinamool Congress	99,784	47.11	Brindaban Sarkar		BJP	64,984	30.68	34,800
99	Baduria	Abdur Rahim Qazi		Trinamool Congress	1,09,701	51.53	Sukalyan Baidya		BJP	53,257	25.02	56,444
100	Habra	Jyotipriya Mallick		Trinamool Congress	90,533	44.34	Rahul Sinha		BJP	86,692	42.46	3,841
101	Ashoknagar	Narayan Goswami		Trinamool Congress	93,587	43.18	Tanuja Chakraborty		BJP	70,055	32.32	23,532
102	Amdanga	Rafiqur Rahaman		Trinamool Congress	88,935	42.00	Joydeb Manna		BJP	63,455	29.97	25,480
103	Bijpur	Subodh Adhikary		Trinamool Congress	66,625	47.90	Subhranshu Roy		BJP	53,278	38.30	13,347
104	Naihati	Partha Bhowmick		Trinamool Congress	77,753	49.69	Phalguni Patra		BJP	58,898	37.64	18,855
105	Bhatpara	Pawan Kumar Singh		BJP	57,244	53.40	Jitendra Shaw		Trinamool Congress	43,557	40.63	13,687
106	Jagatdal	Somenath Shyam Ichini		Trinamool Congress	87,030	48.01	Arindam Bhattacharya		BJP	68,666	37.88	18,364
107	Noapara	Manju Basu		Trinamool Congress	94,203	48.90	Sunil Singh		BJP	67,493	35.04	26,710
108	Barrackpur	Raj Chakraborty		Trinamool Congress	68,887	46.47	Chandramani Shukla		BJP	59,665	40.25	9,222
109	Khardaha	Kajal Sinha		Trinamool Congress	89,807	49.04	Shilbhadra Dutta		BJP	61,667	33.67	28,140
110	Dum Dum Uttar	Chandrima Bhattacharya		Trinamool Congress	95,465	44.79	Archana Majumdar		BJP	66,966	31.42	28,499
111	Panihati	Nirmal Ghosh		Trinamool Congress	86,495	49.61	Sanmoy Banerjee		BJP	61,318	35.17	25,177
112	Kamarhati	Madan Mitra		Trinamool Congress	73,845	51.17	Anindya Banerjee		BJP	38,437	26.64	35,408
113	Baranagar	Tapas Roy		Trinamool Congress	85,615	53.42	Parno Mitra		BJP	50,468	31.49	35,147
114	Dum Dum	Bratya Basu		Trinamool Congress	87,999	47.48	Bimal Shankar Nanda		BJP	61,368	33.06	26,731
115	Rajarhat New Town	Tapash Chatterjee		Trinamool Congress	1,27,374	54.22	Bhaskar Roy		BJP	70,942	30.20	56,432
116	Bidhannagar	Sujit Bose		Trinamool Congress	75,912	46.85	Sabyasachi Dutta		BJP	67,915	41.91	7,997
117	Rajarhat Gopalpur	Aditi Munshi		Trinamool Congress	87,650	49.04	Samik Bhattacharya		BJP	62,354	34.89	25,296
118	Madhyamgram	Rathin Ghosh		Trinamool Congress	1,12,741	48.93	Rajasree Rajbanshi		BJP	64,615	28.04	48,126
119	Barasat	Chiranjeet Chakraborty		Trinamool Congress	1,04,431	46.27	Shankar Chatterjee		BJP	80,648	35.73	23,783
120	Deganga	Rahima Mondal		Trinamool Congress	1,00,105	46.70	Karim Ali		Indian Secular Front	67,568	31.52	32,537
121	Haroa	Haji Nurul Islam		Trinamool Congress	1,30,398	57.34	Kutubuddin Fathe		Indian Secular Front	49,420	21.73	80,978
122	Minakhan (SC)	Usha Rani Mondal		Trinamool Congress	1,09,818	51.72	Jayanta Mondal		BJP	53,988	25.42	55,830
123	Sandeshkhali (ST)	Sukumar Mahata		Trinamool Congress	1,12,450	54.64	Bhaskar Sardar		BJP	72,765	35.36	39,685
124	Basirhat Dakshin	Saptarshi Banerjee		Trinamool Congress	1,15,873	49.15	Tarak Nath Ghosh		BJP	91,405	38.77	24,468
125	Basirhat Uttar	Rafikul Islam Mondal		Trinamool Congress	1,37,216	57.55	Mohammad Baijid Amin		Indian Secular Front	47,865	20.08	89,351
126	Hingalganj (SC)	Debesh Mondal		Trinamool Congress	1,04,706	53.78	Nemai Das		BJP	79,790	40.98	24,916
<span style="color:white;">South 24 Parganas district</span>
127	Gosaba (SC)	Jayanta Naskar		Trinamool Congress	1,05,723	53.99	Barun Pramanik		BJP	82,014	41.88	23,709
128	Basanti (SC)	Shyamal Mondal		Trinamool Congress	1,11,453	52.10	Ramesh Majhi		BJP	60,811	28.43	50,642
129	Kultali (SC)	Ganesh Chandra Mondal		Trinamool Congress	1,17,238	51.57	Mintu Halder		BJP	70,061	30.82	47,177
130	Patharpratima	Samir Kumar Jana		Trinamool Congress	1,20,181	51.85	Asit Kumar Haldar		BJP	98,047	42.30	22,134
131	Kakdwip	Manturam Pakhira		Trinamool Congress	1,14,493	52.14	Dipankar Jana		BJP	89,191	40.62	25,302
132	Sagar	Bankim Chandra Hazra		Trinamool Congress	1,29,000	53.96	Kamila Bikash		BJP	99,154	41.48	29,846
133	Kulpi	Jogaranjan Halder		Trinamool Congress	96,577	50.01	Pranab Kumar Mallik		BJP	62,759	32.50	33,818
134	Raidighi	Aloke Jaldata		Trinamool Congress	1,15,707	48.47	Santanu Bapuli		BJP	80,139	33.57	35,568
135	Mandirbazar (SC)	Joydeb Halder		Trinamool Congress	95,834	48.04	Dilip Kumar Jatua		BJP	72,342	36.26	23,492
136	Jaynagar (SC)	Biswanath Das		Trinamool Congress	1,04,952	51.85	Rabin Sardar		BJP	66,269	32.74	38,683
137	Baruipur Purba (SC)	Bivas Sardar		Trinamool Congress	1,23,243	54.75	Chandan Mondal		BJP	73,602	32.70	49,641
138	Canning Paschim (SC)	Paresh Ram Das		Trinamool Congress	1,11,059	50.86	Arnab Roy		BJP	75,816	34.72	35,243
139	Canning Purba	Saokat Molla		Trinamool Congress	1,22,301	52.54	Gazi Shahabuddin Siraji		Indian Secular Front	69,294	29.77	53,007
140	Baruipur Paschim	Biman Banerjee		Trinamool Congress	1,21,006	57.27	Debopam Chattopadhyaya		BJP	59,096	27.97	61,910
141	Magrahat Purba (SC)	Namita Saha		Trinamool Congress	1,10,945	53.82	Chandan Kumar Naskar		BJP	56,866	27.58	54,079
142	Magrahat Paschim	Giasuddin Molla		Trinamool Congress	97,006	49.93	Manas Dhurjati Saha		BJP	50,065	25.77	46,941
143	Diamond Harbour	Pannalal Halder		Trinamool Congress	98,478	43.69	Dipak Kumar Halder		BJP	81,482	36.15	16,996
144	Falta	Shankar Kumar Naskar		Trinamool Congress	1,17,179	56.35	Bidhan Parui		BJP	76,405	36.75	40,774
145	Satgachia	Mohan Chandra Naskar		Trinamool Congress	1,18,635	50.37	Chandan Pal		BJP	95,317	40.47	23,318
146	Bishnupur (S24) (SC)	Dilip Mondal		Trinamool Congress	1,36,509	57.46	Agniswar Naskar		BJP	77,677	32.70	58,832
147	Sonarpur Dakshin	Arundhuti Maitra		Trinamool Congress	1,09,222	46.92	Anjana Basu		BJP	83,041	35.67	26,181
148	Bhangar	Nawsad Siddique		Indian Secular Front	1,09,237	45.10	Karim Rezaul		Trinamool Congress	83,086	34.31	26,151
149	Kasba	Javed Ahmed Khan		Trinamool Congress	1,21,372	54.39	Indranil Khan		BJP	57,750	25.88	63,622
150	Jadavpur	Debabrata Majumdar		Trinamool Congress	98,100	45.54	Sujan Chakraborty		CPI (M)	59,231	27.50	38,869
151	Sonarpur Uttar	Firdousi Begum		Trinamool Congress	1,19,957	49.88	Ranjan Baidya		BJP	83,867	34.87	36,090
152	Tollygunge	Aroop Biswas		Trinamool Congress	1,01,440	51.40	Babul Supriyo		BJP	51,360	26.02	50,080
153	Behala Purba	Ratna Chatterjee		Trinamool Congress	1,10,968	50.01	Payel Sarkar		BJP	73,540	33.15	37,428
154	Behala Paschim	Partha Chatterjee		Trinamool Congress	1,14,778	49.51	Srabanti Chatterjee		BJP	63,894	27.56	50,884
155	Maheshtala	Dulal Chandra Das		Trinamool Congress	1,24,008	56.38	Umesh Das		BJP	66,059	30.03	57,949
156	Budge Budge	Ashok Kumar Deb		Trinamool Congress	1,22,357	56.41	Tarun Kumar Adak		BJP	77,643	35.80	44,714
157	Metiaburuz	Abdul Khaleque Molla		Trinamool Congress	1,51,066	76.85	Ramjit Prasad		BJP	31,462	16.00	1,19,604
<span style="color:white;">Kolkata district</span>
158	Kolkata Port	Firhad Hakim		Trinamool Congress	1,05,543	69.23	Awadh Kishore Gupta		BJP	36,989	24.26	68,554
159	Bhabanipur	Sovandeb Chattopadhyay		Trinamool Congress	73,505	57.71	Rudranil Ghosh		BJP	44,786	35.16	28,719
160	Rashbehari	Debasish Kumar		Trinamool Congress	65,704	52.79	Subrata Saha		BJP	44,290	35.59	21,414
161	Ballygunge	Subrata Mukherjee		Trinamool Congress	1,06,585	70.60	Lokenath Chatterjee		BJP	31,226	20.68	75,359
162	Chowrangee	Nayna Bandyopadhyay		Trinamool Congress	70,101	62.87	Devdutta Maji		BJP	24,757	22.20	45,344
163	Entally	Swarna Kamal Saha		Trinamool Congress	1,01,709	64.83	Priyanka Tibrewal		BJP	43,452	27.70	58,257
164	Beleghata	Paresh Paul		Trinamool Congress	1,03,182	65.10	Kashinath Biswas		BJP	36,042	22.74	67,140
165	Jorasanko	Vivek Gupta		Trinamool Congress	52,123	52.67	Meena Devi Purohit		BJP	39,380	39.80	12,743
166	Shyampukur	Shashi Panja		Trinamool Congress	55,785	54.18	Sandipan Biswas		BJP	33,265	32.31	22,520
167	Maniktala	Sadhan Pande		Trinamool Congress	67,577	50.82	Kalyan Chaubey		BJP	47,339	35.60	20,238
168	Kashipur-Belgachia	Atin Ghosh		Trinamool Congress	76,182	56.48	Sibaji Sinha Roy		BJP	40,792	30.24	35,390
<span style="color:white;">Howrah district</span>
169	Bally	Rana Chatterjee		Trinamool Congress	53,347	42.38	Baishali Dalmiya		BJP	47,110	37.43	6,237
170	Howrah Uttar	Gautam Chowdhuri		Trinamool Congress	71,575	47.81	Umesh Rai		BJP	66,053	44.12	5,522
171	Howrah Madhya	Arup Roy		Trinamool Congress	1,11,554	57.16	Sanjay Singh		BJP	65,007	33.31	46,547
172	Shibpur	Manoj Tiwary		Trinamool Congress	92,372	50.69	Rathin Chakrabarty		BJP	59,769	32.80	32,603
173	Howrah Dakshin	Nandita Chowdhury		Trinamool Congress	1,16,839	53.85	Rantidev Sengupta		BJP	66,270	30.55	50,569
174	Sankrail (SC)	Priya Paul		Trinamool Congress	1,11,888	50.37	Prabhakar Pandit		BJP	71,461	32.17	40,427
175	Panchla	Gulsan Mullick		Trinamool Congress	1,04,572	48.19	Mohit Lal Ghanti		BJP	71,821	33.10	32,751
176	Uluberia Purba	Bidesh Ranjan Bose		Trinamool Congress	86,526	44.83	Pratyush Mandal		BJP	69,400	35.95	17,126
177	Uluberia Uttar (SC)	Nirmal Maji		Trinamool Congress	91,501	49.25	Chiran Bera		BJP	70,498	37.95	21,003
178	Uluberia Dakshin	Pulak Roy		Trinamool Congress	1,01,880	50.37	Papia Dey Adhikary		BJP	73,442	36.31	28,438
179	Shyampur	Kalipada Mandal		Trinamool Congress	1,14,804	51.74	Tanusree Chakraborty		BJP	83,293	37.54	31,511
180	Bagnan	Arunava Sen		Trinamool Congress	1,06,042	53.04	Anupam Mallik		BJP	75,922	37.97	30,120
181	Amta	Sukanta Kumar Paul		Trinamool Congress	1,02,445	49.06	Debtanu Bhattacharya		BJP	76,240	36.51	26,205
182	Udaynarayanpur	Samir Kumar Panja		Trinamool Congress	1,01,510	51.21	Sumit Ranjan Karar		BJP	87,512	44.15	13,998
183	Jagatballavpur	Sitanath Ghosh		Trinamool Congress	1,16,562	49.45	Anupam Ghosh		BJP	87,366	37.06	29,196
184	Domjur	Kalyan Ghosh		Trinamool Congress	1,30,499	52.00	Rajib Banerjee		BJP	87,879	35.01	42,620
<span style="color:white;">Hooghly district</span>
185	Uttarpara	Kanchan Mullick		Trinamool Congress	93,878	46.96	Prabir Kumar Ghosal		BJP	57,889	28.96	35,989
186	Sreerampur	Sudipto Roy		Trinamool Congress	93,021	49.46	Kabir Shankar Bose		BJP	69,588	37.00	23,433
187	Champdani	Arindam Guin		Trinamool Congress	1,00,972	50.20	Dilip Singh		BJP	70,894	35.25	30,078
188	Singur	Becharam Manna		Trinamool Congress	1,01,077	48.15	Rabindranath Bhattacharya		BJP	75,154	35.80	25,923
189	Chandannagar	Indranil Sen		Trinamool Congress	86,778	47.63	Deepanjan Guha		BJP	55,749	30.60	31,029
190	Chunchura	Asit Mazumdar		Trinamool Congress	1,17,104	45.97	Locket Chatterjee		BJP	98,687	38.74	18,417
191	Balagarh (SC)	Manoranjan Byapari		Trinamool Congress	1,00,364	45.63	Subhash Chandra Haldar		BJP	94,580	43.00	5,784
192	Pandua	Ratna De Nag		Trinamool Congress	1,02,874	45.99	Partha Sharma		BJP	71,016	31.75	31,858
193	Saptagram	Tapan Dasgupta		Trinamool Congress	93,328	48.56	Debabrata Biswas		BJP	83,556	43.48	9,772
194	Chanditala	Swati Khandoker		Trinamool Congress	1,03,118	49.79	Yash Dasgupta		BJP	61,771	29.83	41,347
195	Jangipara	Snehasis Chakraborty		Trinamool Congress	1,01,885	48.42	Debjit Sarkar		BJP	83,959	39.90	17,926
196	Haripal	Karabi Manna		Trinamool Congress	1,10,215	49.92	Samiran Mitra		BJP	87,143	39.47	23,072
197	Dhanekhali (SC)	Ashima Patra		Trinamool Congress	1,24,776	53.36	Tushar Kumar Majumdar		BJP	94,617	40.46	30,159
198	Tarakeswar	Ramendu Sinharay		Trinamool Congress	96,698	46.96	Swapan Dasgupta		BJP	89,214	43.33	7,484
199	Pursurah	Biman Ghosh		BJP	1,19,334	53.50	Dilip Yadav		Trinamool Congress	91,156	40.86	28,178
200	Arambagh (SC)	Madhusudan Bag		BJP	1,03,108	46.88	Sujata Mondal		Trinamool Congress	95,936	43.62	7,172
201	Goghat (SC)	Biswanath Karak		BJP	1,02,227	46.56	Manas Majumdar		Trinamool Congress	98,080	44.67	4,147
202	Khanakul	Susanta Ghosh		BJP	1,07,403	49.27	Munshi Nazbul Karim		Trinamool Congress	94,519	43.36	12,884
<span style="color:white;">Purba Medinipur district</span>
203	Tamluk	Soumen Mahapatra		Trinamool Congress	1,08,243	45.86	Hare Krishna Bera		BJP	1,07,450	45.52	793
204	Panskura Purba	Biplab Roy Chowdhury		Trinamool Congress	91,213	45.97	Debabrata Pattanayek		BJP	81,553	41.11	9,660
205	Panskura Paschim	Firoja Bibi		Trinamool Congress	1,11,705	47.71	Sintu Senapati		BJP	1,02,816	43.91	8,889
206	Moyna	Ashok Dinda		BJP	1,08,109	48.17	Sangram Kumar Dolai		Trinamool Congress	1,06,849	47.61	1,260
207	Nandakumar	Sukumar De		Trinamool Congress	1,08,181	47.60	Nilanjan Adhikary		BJP	1,02,775	45.22	5,406
208	Mahisadal	Tilak Kumar Chakraborty		Trinamool Congress	1,01,986	46.49	Biswanath Banerjee		BJP	99,600	45.41	2,386
209	Haldia (SC)	Tapasi Mondal		BJP	1,04,126	47.15	Swapan Naskar		Trinamool Congress	89,118	40.36	15,008
210	Nandigram<ref name=Nandigram>"Nandigram: After Hours of Confusion, BJP's Suvendu Adhikari Emerges Winner". The Wire. 2 May 2021. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.</ref><ref name=210Nandigram/><ref name=oneindia210>"Nandigram Election Result 2021 LIVE: Nandigram MLA Election Result & Vote Share". Oneindia. Archived from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.</ref><ref name=timesnow210>"Nandigram Assembly Election Results 2021 LIVE – Nandigram Vidhan Sabha Election Results". Times Now. Archived from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.</ref>	Suvendu Adhikari		BJP	1,10,764	48.49	Mamata Banerjee		Trinamool Congress	1,08,808	47.64	1,956
211	Chandipur	Soham Chakraborty		Trinamool Congress	1,09,770	49.82	Pulak Kanti Guria		BJP	96,298	43.71	13,472
212	Patashpur	Uttam Barik		Trinamool Congress	1,05,299	50.42	Ambujaksha Mahanti		BJP	95,305	45.64	9,994
213	Kanthi Uttar	Sumita Sinha		BJP	1,13,524	49.70	Tarun Kumar Jana		Trinamool Congress	1,04,194	45.62	9,330
214	Bhagabanpur	Rabindranath Maity		BJP	1,21,480	54.46	Ardhendu Maity		Trinamool Congress	93,931	42.19	27,549
215	Khejuri (SC)	Shantanu Pramanik		BJP	1,10,407	51.93	Partha Pratim Das		Trinamool Congress	92,442	43.48	17,965
216	Kanthi Dakshin	Arup Kumar Das		BJP	98,477	50.58	Jyotirmoy Kar		Trinamool Congress	88,184	45.30	10,293
217	Ramnagar	Akhil Giri		Trinamool Congress	1,12,622	50.72	Swadesh Ranjan Nayak		BJP	1,00,105	45.08	12,517
218	Egra	Tarun Kumar Maity		Trinamool Congress	1,25,763	52.22	Arup Das		BJP	1,07,272	44.55	18,491
<span style="color:white;">Paschim Medinipur district</span>
219	Dantan	Bikram Chandra Pradhan		Trinamool Congress	94,609	48.18	Shaktipada Nayak		BJP	93,834	47.79	775
<span style="color:white;">Jhargram district</span>
220	Nayagram (ST)	Dulal Murmu		Trinamool Congress	99,825	52.52	Bakul Murmu		BJP	77,089	40.55	22,736
221	Gopiballavpur	Khagendra Nath Mahata		Trinamool Congress	1,02,710	52.34	Sanjit Mahata		BJP	79,106	40.31	23,604
222	Jhargram	Birbaha Hansda		Trinamool Congress	1,08,044	54.34	Sukhamoy Satpathy		BJP	70,048	35.23	37,996
<span style="color:white;">Paschim Medinipur district</span>
223	Keshiary (ST)	Paresh Murmu		Trinamool Congress	1,06,366	50.01	Sonali Murmu		BJP	91,036	42.80	15,330
224	Kharagpur Sadar	Hiran Chatterjee		BJP	79,607	46.45	Pradip Sarkar		Trinamool Congress	75,836	44.25	3,771
225	Narayangarh	Surja Kanta Atta		Trinamool Congress	1,00,894	46.33	Ram Prasad Giri		BJP	98,478	45.23	2,416
226	Sabang	Manas Bhunia		Trinamool Congress	1,12,098	47.46	Amulya Maity		BJP	1,02,234	43.28	9,864
227	Pingla	Ajit Maity		Trinamool Congress	1,12,435	49.17	Antara Bhattacharya		BJP	1,05,779	46.26	6,656
228	Kharagpur	Dinen Roy		Trinamool Congress	1,09,727	54.85	Tapan Bhuiya		BJP	73,497	36.74	36,230
229	Debra	Humayun Kabir		Trinamool Congress	95,850	46.79	Bharati Ghosh		BJP	84,624	41.31	11,226
230	Daspur	Mamata Bhunia		Trinamool Congress	1,14,753	51.58	Prashanth Bera		BJP	87,911	39.52	26,842
231	Ghatal	Shital Kapat		BJP	1,05,812	46.95	Shankar Dolai		Trinamool Congress	1,04,846	46.52	966
232	Chandrakona (SC)	Arup Dhara		Trinamool Congress	1,21,846	48.87	Shibram Das		BJP	1,10,565	44.35	11,281
233	Garbeta	Uttara Singha		Trinamool Congress	94,928	45.71	Madan Ruidas		BJP	84,356	40.62	10,572
234	Salboni	Srikanta Mahata		Trinamool Congress	1,26,020	50.57	Rajib Kundu		BJP	93,376	37.47	32,644
235	Keshpur	Siuli Saha		Trinamool Congress	1,16,992	50.81	Pritish Ranjan Kuar		BJP	96,272	41.82	20,720
236	Medinipur	June Malia		Trinamool Congress	1,21,175	50.72	Shamit Das		BJP	96,778	40.51	24,397
<span style="color:white;">Jhargram district</span>
237	Binpur (ST)	Debnath Hansda		Trinamool Congress	99,786	53.18	Palan Saren		BJP	60,213	32.09	39,573
<span style="color:white;">Purulia district</span>
238	Bandwan (ST)	Rajib Lochan Saren		Trinamool Congress	1,12,183	47.07	Parsi Murmu		BJP	93,298	39.14	18,885
239	Balarampur	Baneswar Mahato		BJP	88,803	45.17	Shantiram Mahato		Trinamool Congress	88,530	45.03	273
240	Baghmundi	Sushanta Mahato		Trinamool Congress	75,245	36.76	Ashutosh Mahato		All Jharkhand Students Union	61,510	30.05	13,735
241	Joypur	Narahari Mahato		BJP	73,713	36.66	Phani Bhushan Kumar		INC	61,611	30.64	12,102
242	Purulia	Sudip Kumar Mukherjee		BJP	88,899	43.33	Sujoy Banerjee		Trinamool Congress	82,134	40.12	6,585
243	Manbazar (ST)	Sandhya Rani Tudu		Trinamool Congress	1,02,169	48.39	Gouri Singh Sardar		BJP	86,679	41.05	15,490
244	Kashipur	Kamalakanta Hansda		BJP	92,061	47.68	Swapan Kumar Beltharia		Trinamool Congress	84,829	43.93	7,240
245	Para (SC)	Nadiar Chand Bouri		BJP	86,930	45.01	Umapada Bauri		Trinamool Congress	82,986	42.96	3,944
246	Raghunathpur (SC)	Vivekananda Bauri		BJP	94,994	44.59	Bouri Hazari		Trinamool Congress	89,671	42.04	5,323
<span style="color:white;">Bankura district</span>
247	Saltora (SC)	Chandana Bauri		BJP	91,648	45.28	Santosh Kumar Mondal		Trinamool Congress	87,503	43.23	4,145
248	Chhatna	Satyanarayan Mukhopadhyay		BJP	90,233	45.84	Subasish Batabyal		Trinamool Congress	83,069	42.20	7,164
249	Ranibandh (ST)	Jyotsna Mandi		Trinamool Congress	90,928	43.06	Kshudiram Tudu		BJP	86,989	41.19	3,939
250	Raipur (ST)	Mrityunjoy Murmu		Trinamool Congress	101,043	51.96	Sudhanshu Hansda		BJP	81,645	41.98	19,398
251	Taldangra	Arup Chakraborty		Trinamool Congress	92,026	45.29	Shyamal Kumar Sarkar		BJP	79,649	39.20	12,377
252	Bankura	Niladri Sekhar Dana		BJP	95,466	43.79	Sayantika Banerjee		Trinamool Congress	93,998	43.12	1,468
253	Barjora	Alok Mukherjee		Trinamool Congress	93,290	42.51	Supriti Chatterjee		BJP	90,021	41.02	3,269
254	Onda	Amarnath Shakha		BJP	1,04,940	46.48	Arup Kumar Khan		Trinamool Congress	93,389	41.37	11,551
255	Bishnupur (Bankura)	Tanmay Ghosh		BJP	88,743	46.79	Archita Bid		Trinamool Congress	77,610	40.92	11,133
256	Katulpur (SC)	Harakali Protiher		BJP	1,06,022	47.31	Sangeeta Malik		Trinamool Congress	94,237	42.05	11,785
257	Indas (SC)	Nirmal Kumar Dhara		BJP	1,04,936	48.04	Runu Mete		Trinamool Congress	97,716	44.73	7,220
258	Sonamukhi (SC)	Dibakar Gharami		BJP	98,161	47.25	Shyamal Santra		Trinamool Congress	87,273	42.01	10,888
<span style="color:white;">Purba Bardhaman district</span>
259	Khandaghosh (SC)	Nabin Chandra Bag		Trinamool Congress	1,04,264	47.85	Bijan Mandal		BJP	83,378	38.26	20,886
260	Bardhaman Dakshin	Khokan Das		Trinamool Congress	91,015	44.32	Sandip Nandi		BJP	82,910	40.38	8,105
261	Raina (SC)	Shampa Dhara		Trinamool Congress	1,08,752	47.46	Manik Roy		BJP	90,547	39.51	18,205
262	Jamalpur (SC)	Alok Kumar Majhi		Trinamool Congress	96,999	46.93	Balaram Bapari		BJP	79,028	38.24	17,971
263	Monteswar	Siddiqullah Chowdhury		Trinamool Congress	1,05,460	50.45	Saikat Panja		BJP	73,655	35.24	31,805
264	Kalna (SC)	Deboprasad Bag		Trinamool Congress	96,073	45.98	Biswajit Kundu		BJP	88,595	42.40	7,478
265	Memari	Madhusudan Bhattacharya		Trinamool Congress	1,04,851	47.92	Bhismadeb Bhattacharya		BJP	81,773	37.37	23,078
266	Bardhaman Uttar (SC)	Nisith Kumar Malik		Trinamool Congress	1,11,211	45.97	Radha Kanta Roy		BJP	93,943	38.83	17,268
267	Bhatar	Mangobinda Adhikari		Trinamool Congress	1,08,028	50.44	Mahendranath Kowar		BJP	76,287	35.62	31,741
268	Purbasthali Dakshin	Swapan Debnath		Trinamool Congress	1,05,698	49.08	Rajib Kumar Bhowmick		BJP	88,288	41.00	17,410
269	Purbasthali Uttar	Tapan Chatterjee		Trinamool Congress	92,421	43.52	Gobardhan Das		BJP	85,715	40.37	6,706
270	Katwa	Rabindranath Chatterjee		Trinamool Congress	1,07,894	48.07	Shyama Majumdar		BJP	98,739	43.99	9,155
271	Ketugram	Sheikh Shahnawaz		Trinamool Congress	1,00,226	46.55	Anadi Ghosh		BJP	87,543	40.66	12,683
272	Mangalkot	Apurba Chowdhury		Trinamool Congress	1,07,596	49.51	Rana Protap Goswami		BJP	85,259	39.23	22,337
273	Ausgram (SC)	Abhedananda Thander		Trinamool Congress	1,00,392	46.25	Kalita Maji		BJP	88,577	40.80	11,815
274	Galsi (SC)	Nepal Ghorui		Trinamool Congress	1,09,504	49.21	Bikash Biswas		BJP	90,242	40.55	19,262
<span style="color:white;">Paschim Bardhaman district</span>
275	Pandabeswar	Narendranath Chakraborty		Trinamool Congress	73,922	44.99	Jitendra Tiwari		BJP	70,119	42.68	3,803
276	Durgapur Purba	Pradip Mazumdar		Trinamool Congress	79,303	41.16	Diptansu Chaudhury		BJP	75,557	39.21	3,746
277	Durgapur Paschim	Lakshman Chandra Ghorui		BJP	91,186	46.31	Biswanath Parial		Trinamool Congress	76,522	38.86	14,664
278	Raniganj	Tapas Banerjee		Trinamool Congress	78,164	42.90	Bijan Mukherjee		BJP	74,608	40.95	3,556
279	Jamuria	Hareram Singh		Trinamool Congress	71,002	42.59	Tapas Kumar Roy		BJP	62,951	37.76	8,051
280	Asansol Dakshin	Agnimitra Paul		BJP	87,881	45.13	Saayoni Ghosh		Trinamool Congress	83,394	42.82	4,487
281	Asansol Uttar	Moloy Ghatak		Trinamool Congress	1,00,931	52.32	Krishnendu Mukherjee		BJP	79,821	41.38	21,110
282	Kulti	Ajay Kumar Poddar		BJP	81,112	46.41	Ujjal Chatterjee		Trinamool Congress	80,433	46.02	679
283	Barabani	Bidhan Upadhyay		Trinamool Congress	88,430	52.26	Arijit Roy		BJP	64,973	38.40	23,457
<span style="color:white;">Birbhum district</span>
284	Dubrajpur (SC)	Anup Kumar Saha		BJP	98,083	47.94	Debabrata Saha		Trinamool Congress	94,220	46.05	3,863
285	Suri	Bikash Roy Choudhury		Trinamool Congress	1,05,871	48.43	Jagannath Chattopadhyay		BJP	98,551	45.08	7,320
286	Bolpur	Chandranath Sinha		Trinamool Congress	1,16,443	50.57	Anirban Ganguly		BJP	94,163	40.89	22,280
287	Nanoor (SC)	Bidhan Chandra Majhi		Trinamool Congress	1,12,116	47.64	Tarakeswar Saha		BJP	1,05,446	44.81	6,670
288	Labpur	Abhijit Sinha		Trinamool Congress	1,08,423	51.14	Biswajit Mondal		BJP	90,448	42.66	17,975
289	Sainthia (SC)	Nilabati Saha		Trinamool Congress	1,10,572	49.84	Piya Saha		BJP	95,329	42.97	15,243
290	Mayureswar	Abhijit Roy		Trinamool Congress	1,00,425	50.36	Shyamapada Mondal		BJP	88,350	44.30	12,075
291	Rampurhat	Ashish Banerjee		Trinamool Congress	1,03,276	47.52	Subhasis Choudhury		BJP	94,804	43.62	8,472
292	Hansan	Ashok Chattopadhyaya		Trinamool Congress	1,08,289	51.42	Nikhil Banerjee		BJP	57,676	27.39	50,613
293	Nalhati	Rajendra Prasad Singh		Trinamool Congress	1,17,438	56.54	Tapas Kumar Yadav		BJP	60,533	29.15	56,905
294	Murarai	Mosarraf Hossain		Trinamool Congress	1,46,496	67.23	Debasish Roy		BJP	48,250	22.14	98,246

Controversies

Communist Party of India (Marxist) supporters and leaders accused No Vote To BJP campaign and CPIML Liberation of leading to the victory of All India Trinamool Congress. Relations between CPIM and CPIML Liberation weakened after 2021 West Bengal Legislative Election.<ref>"CPIM State Conference 2022: বিজেপিবিরোধী মুখ হিসাবে মানুষের মনে মমতা! 'নো ভোট টু BJP' স্লোগান ঘিরে CPIM-এর অন্দরেই প্রশ্ন". 15 March 2022. Archived from the original on 16 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.</ref><ref>"'‌তৃণমূল'‌ না '‌বিজেপি'‌ আসল শত্রু কে? সিপিএম–সিপিএমএলের মধ্যে ফাটল‌". 2 March 2021. Archived from the original on 16 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.</ref>

No Vote To BJP campaign

No Vote To BJP was a non-partisan, Anti-BJP political campaign in West Bengal. The campaign motto was We requested to all peoples of the West Bengal, vote for anyone in the election, but not vote for the BJP on the 2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election..<ref>"'No Vote to BJP' echoes in Kolkata, to be heard across Bengal". 15 March 2021. Archived from the original on 16 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.</ref><ref name="indianexpress.com">"'No Vote to BJP' rally in West Bengal". 10 March 2021.</ref><ref name="202initiatives">"Bengal Elections 2021: Civil Society Initiatives Calling for 'No Vote to BJP' Gain Momentum". 19 January 2022.</ref><ref name="nationalheraldindia.com">"'No Vote to BJP' echoes in Kolkata, to be heard across Bengal". 15 March 2021.</ref><ref name="why">"'Here's why we won't vote for BJP'".</ref>

Nandigram controversy

Main article: 2021 Nandigram controversy

On 18 January Mamata Banerjee announced at a rally in Nandigram that she would contest the upcoming assembly elections from Nandigram. Hours later, Suvendu Adhikari said he would defeat the CM by a margin of at least 50,000 votes or quit politics.<ref>"Bengal polls: Mamata says will fight from Suvendu turf Nandigram; 'will defeat her or quit politics', he hits back". 18 January 2021.</ref><ref>সংবাদদাতা, নিজস্ব. "প্রার্থী মমতা, উজ্জীবিত তৃণমূল". Anandabazar.</ref>

On the eve of polling in Nandigram, the ECI ordered the transfer of the sub-divisional police officer of Haldia and the circle inspector of Mahishadal in Purba Medinipur district to non-election assignments<ref>"Election Commission orders transfer of 2 West Bengal police officers". India Today. 31 March 2021.</ref> and imposed Section 144 in that constituency.<ref>Saha, Poulomi (1 April 2021). "Bengal Election: Section 144 imposed in Nandigram ahead of polling". India Today.</ref> A day after the polling, stray clashes took place between workers of the TMC and the BJP in some parts of Nandigram.<ref>"West Bengal Assembly polls: Stray clashes in Nandigram a day after polling". Tribuneindia News Service.</ref>

The votes were counted on 2 May. All eyes were set on the updates of high-voltage Nandigram constituency. 17 rounds of counting was to be done before declaring the winner. Mamata Banerjee was trailing in initial rounds. The EC informed that announcement of results for Nandigram would be delayed because of problem in server.<ref>"Bengal Election Result: নন্দীগ্রামের ফল ঘোষণায় দেরি, সার্ভার সমস্যার কথা জানাল কমিশন". Anandabazar (in Bengali). 2 May 2021.</ref> In the 16th round, when the counting of votes in Gokulnagar panchayat area started, Mamata fell behind.<ref>সংবাদদাতা, নিজস্ব. "WB Election Result: দিদি নয়, নন্দীগ্রামে দাদার জয়, ১৬২২ ভোটে জিতেছেন শুভেন্দু". anandabazar.com (in Bengali). Retrieved 13 July 2021.</ref> After the 16th round, the counting of 17th round was delayed by an hour. Postal ballots were being counted at that time. At the end of the seventeenth round, it was announced that Mamata Banerjee had won by a margin of 1,200 (or 3,717) votes. Though later, it was declared that Suvendu had defeated (his) former party leader by approximately 1,956 votes.<ref name=Nandigram/><ref name=210Nandigram/><ref name=oneindia210/><ref name=timesnow210/> Mamata banerjee continued to claim that she won Nandigram, Security was beefed up in the vicinity of the Haldia counting centre amid fears of unrest.

Mamata Banerjee alleged that the returning officer of Nandigram constituency was threatened and the two observers sitting inside the counting centre were very biased.<ref>Press conference at Kalighat I কালীঘাটে সাংবাদিক সম্মেলন। (in Bengali). Mamata Banerjee. 3 May 2021 – via Facebook.</ref><ref>Press conference at Kalighat I কালীঘাটে সাংবাদিক সম্মেলন। (in Bengali). All India Trinamool Congress. 3 May 2021 – via Facebook.</ref><ref>"Nandigram returning officer was threatened by EC official, says Mamata". The Week. 3 May 2021.</ref>

The ECI wrote a letter to the West Bengal chief secretary and directed them to take all appropriate measures to keep a strict watch and regularly monitor the security provided to the returning officer in Nandigram.

Since Adhikari was declared winner, TMC workers protested outside the counting centre. Central Forces protected Adhikari's car while before it left the area. TMC workers alleged that the counting was stopped for three hours, the result was overturned after a power outage, and their agent was assaulted and thrown out from the counting centre by central forces.<ref>WB Election Result 2021 | Suvendu Adhikari | Nandigram | নন্দীগ্রামে শুভেন্দু পৌছতেই ব্যাপক উত্তেজনা (in Bengali). TV9BanglaLive. 2 May 2021 – via YouTube.</ref>

On 14 July, the High Court issued a notice to Adhikari, the ECI, the state electoral officer, and the returning officer with a direction to keep all election-related records intact until the case was heard on 12 August.<ref>"Nandigram Petition: HC Serves Notice on Suvendu Adhikari, Asks EC to Preserve All Records". The Wire. 14 July 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.</ref><ref>"Preserve Nandigram poll records, Calcutta HC tells EC". The Times of India. 15 July 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.</ref> Adhikari went to the Supreme Court seeking transfer of Banerjee's election petition case outside the state.<ref>"Nandigram Petition: Suvendu Adhikari Moves SC Seeking Transfer of Mamata Banerjee's Plea". The Wire. 15 July 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.</ref>

On 12 August, Adhikari's lawyers submitted before the court of Justice Sarkar that the legislator has approached the Supreme Court seeking transfer of the case from West Bengal. In keeping with the respondent's prayer, Justice Sarkar adjourned the hearing to 15 November.<ref>"Suvendu Adhikari moves SC, seeks transfer of Nandigram poll plea". The Times of India. 12 August 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.</ref><ref>"Court Adjourns Hearing On Mamata Banerjee's Plea Against Nandigram Poll Result Till November 15". NDTV. 13 August 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.</ref> On that date, Adhikari filed a petition in the Calcutta High Court seeking adjournment of the case. The High Court asked him to file a written statement explaining the reason for his no-confidence in the High Court by 29 November and it was decided that the next hearing would be held on 1 December.<ref>"Nandigram election: Calcutta HC grants Suvendu Adhikari time to file written statement". Deccan Herald. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.</ref><ref>"Calcutta HC Seeks Response From Suvendu Adhikari By Nov 29 In Mamata Banerjee's Election Petition Against Nandigram Results, Next Hearing On Dec 1". LiveLaw.in. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.</ref>

Reactions and analysis

For the first time since the creation of the state through division of Bengal Presidency, the state legislative assembly does not have any members from the INC or Left Front, who dominated and shaped the politics of the state until 1998 when the TMC was founded and overtook the INC as the main opposition party in the state.

Opinion polls and exit polls predicted a tight race between the TMC and BJP, and that TMC would win around 150 seats, BJP 140, with the remaining for Morcha. TMC won over 200 seats, while BJP overall performed poorly.<ref>"Bengal verdict: 25 charts show how the Trinamool conclusively beat the BJP". Scroll.in. 5 May 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.</ref> Although it was the best ever performance of the state BJP in terms of both seats (before 2016, it never had more than one seat in the state Legislative assembly) and voteshare (at the height of the Ram mandir agitation, BJP managed to win 11.34% of votes in the 1991 election), it wasn't as phenomenal as it was in 2019.

BJP's vote share fell from 40% in the 2019 elections to 38%. Reasons given were:

• By fielding candidates who switched from TMC to BJP after the results of the 2019 general elections or months before the elections began, the party leadership angered the party cadres at grassroots level who have been associated with the party since the 2014 general elections and have been actively demanding that the party remove those same people from power,<ref>"RSS mouthpiece criticises BJP for fielding Trinamool turncoats". The New Indian Express. 15 May 2021.</ref> resulting in the defeat of 142 TMC turncoats who had been fielded by BJP as candidates in this election.<ref>"Trinamool turncoats fail BJP in Bengal polls, Suvendu & Mukul Roy the few face savers". The Print.</ref> The defeat of sitting TMC MLA Rabindranath Bhattacharjee, who had joined BJP on 8 March was significant because he lost in Singur, where people had started considering the 2006 anti-land acquisition movement led by Mamata Banerjee to be a historic blunder<ref>"How Equations Have Changed in 3 Places That Had Brought Mamata Banerjee to Power". The Wire.</ref> due to a lack of jobs in the region and had voted for BJP in the 2019 elections in the hopes of industrialisation.<ref>"Bengal polls: 13 years after Tata's ouster, Singur seeks industrialisation". The New Indian Express. 6 April 2021.</ref><ref>"BJP workers oppose party's decision to field former TMC MLA from Singur, say he targeted cadre". India Today. 14 March 2021.</ref><ref>"West Bengal Assembly polls: BJP workers at Singur oppose party's decision to field former TMC MLA Rabindranath Bhattacharya". freepressjournal.com.</ref> Similarly Rajib Banerjee, who won the Domjur seat by receiving more than 100,000 votes in the previous assembly election, lost by a margin of more than 42,000 votes because he was unable to consolidate the support of the local cadres from either TMC or BJP towards himself.<ref>"মোট ৩৪ দলবদলুর মধ্যে জয়ী মাত্র পাঁচ! বিধানসভা ভোট শিক্ষা দিয়ে গেল রাজনীতিকে". Anandabazar Patrika (in Bengali). 12 May 2021.</ref>
• Derogatory comments made towards Mamata Banerjee by BJP leaders, notably Modi taunting her by calling her out as Didi, O Didi from political rallies in Howrah and Barasat, Adhikari referring to her as Begum and Ghosh calling her out as haramjada ('harem-born child' in Bangla)<ref>"Dilip Ghosh hurls abuses at Mamata, says those against 'Jai Shri Ram' slogan will be forced into BJP". The New Indian Express. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2022.</ref> and his derogatory comments on Mamata Banerjee's injury,<ref>"Dear BJP, 'Didi-o-didi' has reverse effects too". The New Indian express. May 2021.</ref> eight months after a Dalit woman was gangraped and strangled to death by four upper-caste men in Uttar Pradesh and BJP leaders there openly supported of the perpetrators were not viewed positively by Bengali women, who saw the BJP leaders trying to import the culture of misogyny and toxic masculinity generally associated with the Hindi belt.<ref name="plot">"How BJP Lost the Plot in Bengal". 5 May 2021 – via YouTube.</ref> A large number of Bengali women (constituting 49% of the electorate) did not vote for BJP in spite of electoral promises like making education of females in the state free of cost from kindergarten to post-graduate level.<ref>"Special focus on women's safety, education in BJP manifesto for West Bengal polls". hindustantimes.com. 21 March 2021.</ref>
• Attempts made by BJP leaders to convert the tribal population into Hinduism were widely unpopular, especially in the tribal-dominated Medinipur division<ref>"Bengal Polls: Why Did the Tribal Population of Jangalmahal Ditch the BJP?". The New Indian Express. 3 May 2021.</ref> As a result, tribal votes were divided between BJP and TMC as TMC regained back the support of tribal communities in the Jhargram, Paschim Medinipur and Malda districts while BJP continued to retain its tribal votes in Purulia, Bankura, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar.
• An increase in petrol, diesel and LPG prices along with spike in cases related to the COVID-19 pandemic during the elections and BJP's response to it, most notably state BJP president Dilip Ghosh advocating consumption of cow urine (considered sacred to Hindu society due to sacredness of the cow in Hinduism) over vaccination,<ref>Singh, Shiv Sahay (18 July 2020). "Drink cow urine to fight virus: Bengal BJP chief". The Hindu.</ref> advocating extraction of gold allegedly found in the milk of zebu cattle native to the region as a means to overcome economic recession caused by the pandemic<ref>"BJP leader claims Indian cow's milk contains gold, sparks laugh riot on social media". www.indianexpress.com. 5 November 2019.</ref> and promoting anti-intellectualism by labelling those intellectuals who criticised his promotion of pseudo-science as 'Hinduphobhic', 'alcohol-addicts' and 'dog meat eaters' (a racial slur used in India by Hindus against the Han Chinese and non-Hindu hill tribes of Northeast India) made the party unpopular to the Bengali middle-class.<ref name="whydidbjplose">"Why did the BJP lose Bengal 2021?". India Today. 3 May 2021.</ref>
• To compensate for the lack of organisational strength in the state and prevent outbreak of factionalism in the state unit between those who have connections with the RSS and have been associated with the party since the days of the Ram-mandir agitation and those who defected from other parties and have no RSS background, BJP depended heavily on non-Bengali leaders from the Hindi belt to campaign for the party. 52 Union Cabinet ministers and 17 senior BJP leaders, which included Yogi Adityanath,<ref>"UP CM Yogi Adityanath heads to West Bengal to campaign for BJP ahead of Assembly polls". Deccan Herald. 25 February 2021.</ref> Shivraj Singh Chauhan,<ref>"Come May 2, Didi will be gone: MP CM Shivraj blasts Mamata Banerjee on her home turf". India Today. 28 February 2021.</ref> Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Prahlad Patel, Sanjeev Balyan, Arjun Munda, Mansukh L. Mandaviya, Keshav Prasad Maurya, Narottam Mishra,<ref>"BJP ropes in cabinet ministers to win West Bengal". The Economic Times. 19 December 2020.</ref> Smriti Irani, Rajnath Singh, Dharmendra Pradhan, BJP party president J. P. Nadda, and secretary-in-charge of the state unit Kailash Vijayvargiya were sent to campaign in the state. Modi held 23 rallies, while Amit Shah held 79 in the state. The over-dependence of Hindi-speaking leaders who did not speak Bangla created a communication gap between the party and the electorate, who viewed their Bengali identity to be losing ground in the state to the aggressive promotion of culture from the Hindi belt by the BJP in the name of promoting Hindu unity.<ref name="whydidbjplose" />
• Although the Matua community continued to vote in favour of BJP, they did not vote in unison as they did in the 2019 elections. Fears centering around the National Register of Citizens,<ref>"Bengal polls: In Matua bastion, some voters in dilemma about CAA". The Indian Express. 22 April 2021.</ref> frustration due to delay in implementation of the CAA, and Mamata Banerjee's attempts to regain back the support of the Matua community by allotting money for community-specific development of Namasudras<ref>"BJP reaches out to Matuas, tribals; Mamata showers them with sops". The Indian Express. 5 November 2020.</ref> and declaring the birthday of Harichand Thakur, founder of the Matua movement, as a state government holiday led to the division of Matua votes between the BJP and TMC to some extent,<ref>"মতুয়া ভোট টেনেও কিছু আসনে পর্যুদস্ত ঘাসফুল". anandabazar.com.</ref> which affected the party in Nadia and North 24 Parganas districts as BJP won 28 Matua-dominated seats and TMC retained 21 Matua-dominated seats.

The TMC increased its vote share from 43% in 2019 elections to 48% in the election. Reasons given were:

• After the debacle in the 2019 elections, Mamata Banerjee ordered her party to return the "cut-money" (money collected by extorting and accepting bribes from common people, in order to "allow" them to access government facilities)<ref>"Desperate Mamata in damage control mode, asks leaders to return 'cut money'". Sunday Guardian. 22 June 2019.</ref> in an attempt to distance herself from corruption perpetrated by her cadres and maintain her clean image.
• To tone down the allegations of Muslim appeasement made against her, Mamata Banerjee declared an allowance for Hindu priests,<ref>"Mamata gives big push to Hindi & Hindu, BJP calls CM 'scared', Trinamool says it's 'unity'". The Print. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021.</ref> providing 50,000 INR to each Durga Puja committee in the state,<ref>"Mamata Banerjee showers Durga Puja bonanza, BJP seethes". newindianexpress.com. 4 September 2020.</ref> emphasising on her Bengali Brahmin background and reciting shlokas from the Devi Mahatmya in political rallies.<ref>"I am a Hindu girl: Mamata recites Chandipath at Nandigram day before filing papers". India Today. 9 March 2021.</ref>
• The Didi Ke Bolo campaign launched by Prashant Kishor helped the electorate directly communicate with Mamata Banerjee and was widely popular in the state.<ref>"Banglar Gorbo Mamata: Flutter in TMC over West Bengal CM's outreach program". India Today. 4 March 2020.</ref> The programs aimed to rebrand the public image of Mamata Banerjee from an arrogant pro-Muslim streetfighter prone to outbursts of anger to a down-to-earth leader who represents Bengali cultural values on a national level.<ref>"Is the post-election Mamata makeover real ?". livemint.com. 17 August 2019.</ref><ref>"'Banglar Gorbo': Why is Prashant Kishor's I-PAC Rebranding Mamata?". The Quint. 3 March 2020.</ref>
• To curb the influence of party cadres acting as middlemen between common people and government schemes, Mamata Banerjee launched government programs like Duare Sarkar (transl. "Government at your doorstep")<ref>"Bengal: Bid to keep Duare Sarkar camps free of politicians". The Telegraph.</ref> and Paraye Paraye Somadhan (transl. "Solution at your neighbourhood")<ref>"Mamata announces new neighbourhood grievance redressal programme". Hindustan Times. 28 December 2020.</ref> which aimed to directly deliver welfare schemes run by the state government to the public, and were well received.<ref>"90L people received benefits of 'Duare Sarkar' prog in 29 days". Hindustan Times. 10 January 2021.</ref>
• TMC countered BJP's campaign of polarisation on religious grounds based on aggressive propagation of Hindutva by labelling the BJP as a party of non-Bengalis who were importing an alien culture in the state in their attempts of achieving cultural homogenization under the name of Hindu unity and portraying Mamata Banerjee as the defendant of Bengali identity in the face of Hindutva through its official election slogan "Bangla nijer meyekei chay" (transl. "Bengal wants its own daughter")<ref>"'Bangla nijer meyekei chay': Trinamool launches slogan with Didi as CM face". The Times of India. 21 February 2021.</ref>
• Mamata Banerjee's decision to contest the elections only from Nandigram instead of her home-turf Bhabanipur (from where she had been elected MLA twice and MP for South Kolkata 7 times) motivated her party cadres demoralised by the rise of BJP in 2019 and the ensuing defection of many top TMC leaders, to dedicate themselves entirely in preventing the BJP from coming into power in the state.<ref>"5 reasons why Nandigram is the biggest battle for Mamata in her 40-year political career". The Print. 1 April 2021.</ref> Modi, Shah, and an entire hoard of high-profile leaders of national politics campaigned to remove Mamata Banerjee from power with the ECI acting biasedly in favour of the BJP<ref>"Election Commission-BJP Nexus Is All too Clear – and Bengal Is the Latest Example". The Wire.</ref> and that she was campaigning from a wheelchair, solidified Mamata Banerjee's image in public perception as a fighter who is unwilling to give up without a fight.<ref name="plot"/> The TMC utilised this indomitable fighter spirit of her through its unofficial election anthem<ref>"Bengal Assembly Elections 2021: 'Khela Hobe' fame Debangshu Bhattacharya fails to get TMC ticket". DNA India. 5 March 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2022.</ref> "Khela Hobe" (transl. "The game is on"), which was later gave rise to the slogan "Bhanga Paye Khela Hobe" (transl. "The game will be played even with a fractured leg").<ref>"Mamata leads TMC's march on wheelchair, says injured tigress is more dangerous". The Economic Times.</ref>
• Welfare schemes implemented by Mamata Banerjee like Kanyashree were already popular among the masses. They were combined by other populist schemes in the list of electoral promises, most notably Lakshmir Bhandar (basic income support for unemployed women).<ref>"Mamata releases TMC's poll manifesto, promises 5 lakh jobs a year, free door-to-door ration delivery". India Today. 17 March 2021.</ref>
• BJP's endorsement of the killing of Muslims in the Sitalkuchi firing incident left the Bengali Muslim community of the state (who constitute 30% of the electorate) fearful for their existence and security in the scenario of a BJP-ruled West Bengal, and they voted unitedly for the TMC in the election, especially in the Muslim-majority Malda division, where the Muslim votes until then was traditionally divided between the INC and CPI(M).<ref name="plot"/>

The combined vote share of INC and Left Front fell from 11% in the 2019 general elections to 8% in this elections. Reasons given were:

• Confusion regarding the party's policy was an important factor. Central INC leaders like Rahul Gandhi refrained from campaigning against Mamata Banerjee as the party enjoyed cooperation with the TMC at a national level, but at the state level PCC chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury refused to cooperate with TMC, and INC leaders found it difficult to justify their alliance with the Left Front in West Bengal while opposing the Left Front in Kerala at the same time.<ref>"This is why Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Vadra & top Congress leaders are yet to campaign in Bengal". The Print. 31 March 2021.</ref> The Left Front was divided over whether to consider BJP to be a greater threat than the TMC, and decided to focus more on opposing TMC than the BJP.<ref>"বিজেপি-বিরোধিতায় ঘাটতি ছিল, রিপোর্টে মানল সিপিএম". anandabazar.com.</ref> This strategy backfired on the Left Front as the TMC portrayed itself as the party that could withstand BJP in the state, and the Left Front was viewed as a "vote-cutter"<ref>"Small candidates and 'vote-cutting' in Indian elections". livemint.com.</ref> that divided the anti-BJP votes to BJP's advantage. A group of voters who had voted for the Left Front in the 2019 general elections, under influence of the non-partisan No Vote to BJP campaign<ref>"CPIM State Conference 2022: বিজেপিবিরোধী মুখ হিসাবে মানুষের মনে মমতা! 'নো ভোট টু BJP' স্লোগান ঘিরে CPIM-এর অন্দরেই প্রশ্ন". 15 March 2022.</ref><ref>"'‌তৃণমূল'‌ না '‌বিজেপি'‌ আসল শত্রু কে? সিপিএম–সিপিএমএলের মধ্যে ফাটল‌". 2 March 2021. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021.</ref><ref name="nationalheraldindia.com"/><ref name="indianexpress.com"/><ref name="202initiatives" /><ref name="why"/> voted for the TMC to prevent BJP from coming into power.
• To attract the anti-TMC and anti-BJP votes towards itself, the Sanyukta Morcha tried to portray BJP and TMC to be the same on the grounds that both parties harboured corrupt leaders and engaged in identity politics. The INC's official election slogan was "Aar kono bhul na, aar kono phul na" ("No More Mistakes, No More Flowers", referring to the election symbols of BJP and TMC). The Left Front also criticised both the parties in social media under the term Bijemool (portmanteau of the words BJP and Trinamool). This didn't catch on with the electorate, who saw BJP as a Hindu right-wing party and TMC as a center-left party.<ref>"ভোট-প্রচারে 'বিজেমূল' স্লোগান ব্যবহার ভুল ছিল, সরাসরি কবুল সূর্যকান্তের". anandabazar.com.</ref>
• In spite of fielding Hindu candidates in the seats it had been allotted, public perception about ISF remained to be of a party by and for Muslims led by a hardliner cleric, Abbas Siddiqui, who had compared actress and TMC MP Nusrat Jahan to a prostitute in one of his apolitical jalsas in the past,<ref name="youtube.com">"Who is Abbas Siddiqui and Why is Congress Divided Over Alliance With ISF in Bengal ?". 3 March 2021 – via YouTube.</ref> and the alliance between them and Peerzada of Furfura Sharif was met with unease within the INC.<ref>"'G-23' leader slams Congress tie-up with ISF". The Times of India. 2 March 2021.</ref> The alliance with ISF wasn't appreciated by the Left Front workers at the grassroots level, who saw it as a violation of the Communist viewpoint of religion being the opium of the masses.
• The inability of aged leaders at the top of Left Front to adapt to changed conditions in state politics and lack of youth representation in the top decision-making bodies has also been cited as a reason.<ref>"Is This the End of the Road for the CPI(M) in Bengal?". The Wire.</ref>
• In spite of mobilising huge amounts of crowds in the first rally of the Sanyukta Morcha at the Brigade Parade grounds before the elections began,<ref>"West Bengal: In Left-Congress Brigade Ground Rally, ISF Emerged as the Biggest Mobiliser". The Wire.</ref> ISF failed to divide the Muslim votes between itself and TMC in Presidency division and Burdwan division as expected from it<ref name="youtube.com"/> in the aftermath of the Sitalkuchi shooting incident. The victory ISF's lone winning candidate (Abbas's brother Nowshad Siddiqui) in Bhangar has been credited to Arabul Islam's dissatisfaction for not being fielded as the candidate and the resulting non-cooperation with the district TMC leadership.<ref>"ভাঙড়ে হারের জন্য আরাবুলকে দোষারোপ দলের একাংশের". anandabazar.com.</ref>

Veteran BJP leader Tathagata Roy lashed out at the party leadership on Twitter for viewing the ground conditions in the state through what he called KDSA (i.e. Kailash Vijayvargiya, Dilip Ghosh, Shiv Prakash and Arvind Menon)<ref>"'Incoming garbage got tickets': Ex-governor Tathagata Roy slams BJP netas for Bengal rout". The Times of India. 7 May 2021.</ref> and questioned the party's decision to field Nogorer notis (transl. "City prostitutes"), referring to actresses Payel Sarkar, Tanushree Chakraborty and Srabanti Chatterjee, who were seen in a boat ride with TMC leader Madan Mitra in the past.<ref>"'নগরের নটী' পায়েল, তনুশ্রীরা কেন প্রার্থী, বিজেপি-র 'প্রভু'দের প্রকাশ্য তোপ তথাগতর". anandabazar.com.</ref> He also specifically blamed Dilip Ghosh's many controversial remarks, most notably his misogynistic comments against Goddess Durga, the most widely revered Hindu deity in Bengali Hindu society in his attempt to glorify Lord Rama, the most widely revered Hindu deity in North Indian Hindu society and the ideological poster-boy of the RSS-BJP alongside Hanuman since the days of the Ram-mandir movement to justify the 'holier-than-thou' attitude of the Bengali Hindu supporters of BJP over the Bengali Hindus who don't support the BJP at a media conclave while campaigning for the elections, to be responsible for the party's poor performance. His Nogorer Noti remark drew widespread criticism online.

The average winning margin of all the candidates in this election stood at 26,964 votes, while the same for AITC candidates was 31,760 votes.<ref>"West Bengal Results | Victory margins show the depth of TMC's victory". Moneycontrol. 7 May 2021. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021.</ref> This loss was stated by the media to be Modi's personal failure.<ref>"Bengal's election result is Narendra Modi's personal failure". Newslaundry.com. 3 May 2021.</ref>

In view of the popular slogan "Khela Hobe", Mamata Banerjee declared that her party would observe 16 August as Khela Hobe Divas, which the BJP tried to link with Direct Action Day.<ref>Singh, Shiv Sahay (14 August 2021). "TMC, BJP spar over 'Khela Hobe Dibas' on August 16". The Hindu.</ref> She also launched a government scheme named "Khela Hobe" which granted 5,00,000 INR and free footballs among 25,000 sporting clubs in the state to promote sports in economically poorer sections of society.<ref>"Mamata dribbles football at 'Khela hobe' programme launch; says slogan now popular across India". hindustantimes.com. 2 August 2021.</ref>

Countering Shah's claim that BJP would come to power in West Bengal by winning around 200 or more seats out of the 294 seats in the state legislative assembly,<ref>"BJP will easily win over 200 seats in West Bengal, claims Amit Shah". Hindustan Times. 28 March 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.</ref><ref>"BJP Will Win Over 200 Seats in West Bengal, Says Amit Shah; Mamata Banerjee Derides His Claims". News18. 28 March 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.</ref> Kishor publicly declared that he would resign from his job if BJP managed to win more than a 100 seats in this elections.<ref>"Will cease to exist as political strategist if BJP wins over 100 seats in Bengal: Prashant Kishor". India Today. 3 March 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.</ref> Although he delivered his promise, Kishor declared his retirement from on being an election strategist on 2 May, citing personal reasons.<ref>"'Quitting this space', declares Prashant Kishor". The Hindu. 2 May 2021. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2 October 2021.</ref><ref>"অক্ষরে অক্ষরে মিলেছে কথা, তবু রাজনীতির ময়দান ছাড়ছেন প্রশান্ত কিশোর!". News18 Bengali (in Bengali). 2 May 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.</ref><ref>"Want to quit this, do something else: Prashant Kishor". The Indian Express. 3 May 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.</ref>

Allegations of partial Election Commission

Election strategist Prashant Kishor who helped TMC in the elections, accused the Election Commission of being partial and helping the BJP saying, "I have never seen a more partial Election Commission... It did everything to help the BJP... From allowing the use of religion to scheduling the poll and bending the rules, the ECI did everything to help the BJP."<ref>"'Quitting this space', declares Prashant Kishor". The Hindu. PTI. 2 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2023.</ref>

Aftermath

Violence

Main article: 2021 Bengal post-poll violence

Politically motivated violence in West Bengal took place since before the 2021 West Bengal elections.

In June 2019, 2 Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers were killed in Bengal. The party had blamed Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) for it.

Indian Home Minister and BJP member Amit Shah said that more than 300 BJP members were killed due to the political violence as of December 2020 and that "investigation in those cases hasn't moved an inch".

After results were announced, post-poll violence broke out in some areas of the state. In reality it was continuation of the violence which took place across the state during the election.<ref>"A look back at the history of Bengal's political violence". Hindustan Times. 2 April 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.</ref><ref>"The Hypermasculine Post-Poll Violence That Took Over West Bengal After Elections". Feminism in India. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2022.</ref>

On May 2, the results had just started showing signs of Trinamool returning to power when the men arrived, going house to house, ransacking them, breaking some. By the end of the day, 40 families of a colony located on KPC Medical College grounds in Jadavpur had fled. All BJP supporters or workers say TMC threats had kept them away for two-and-a-half months .<ref>"Post-election violence: House to house, eight times in two months, 40 families say on the run". The Indian Express. 20 July 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2022.</ref>

Government formation

Mamata Banerjee took an oath as the Chief Minister of West Bengal for the third time on 5 May 2021 at the Raj Bhawan in Kolkata.<ref>"Mamata Banerjee sworn-in as West Bengal Chief Minister for 3rd time". The Times of India. 5 May 2021.</ref> She expanded the cabinet on 10 May 2021 when 43 TMC leaders were sworn in as ministers.<ref>"Mamata Banerjee expands Cabinet, 43 TMC leaders sworn-in as ministers". Hindustan Times. 10 May 2021.</ref> 17 new people were in the Third Banerjee ministry.<ref>"43 TMC leaders, including 17 new faces, to be sworn in as ministers in West Bengal cabinet". India Today. 10 May 2021.</ref><ref>Singh, Shiv Sahay (10 May 2021). "Old and new faces, representation for women and Muslims in West Bengal Cabinet". The Hindu.</ref>

Vacant seats

TMC candidate Kajal Sinha from Khardaha died from COVID-19 after polling but before the results of the state assembly elections were announced, in which he emerged victorious.<ref>"COVID-positive TMC candidate Kajal Sinha dies at Kolkata hospital". The New Indian Express. 25 April 2021.</ref> The ECI deferred the elections to two assembly seats in West Bengal in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. The polling had been rescheduled earlier to 16 May 2021 due to the death of two contestants from the Samserganj and Jangipur constituencies.<ref>"Election to two Bengal seats deferred". The Hindu. 3 May 2021.</ref> Mocking this decision, the TMC said "The Election Commission, though late, finally woke up. But when demands were made repeatedly to arrange the election in one day by combining 2–3 phases, then they remained silent."<ref>"জঙ্গিপুর ও সামশেরগঞ্জে ভোট পিছল". bartamanpatrika.com (in Bengali). 4 May 2021.</ref> Two BJP MLAs – Nisith Pramanik from Dinhata and Jaganath Sarkar from Shantipur constituencies – resigned after the election results, as they were sitting MPs from Cooch Behar and Ranaghat, respectively, and wanted to continue as MPs.<ref>Singh, Shiv Sahay (12 May 2021). "2 Bengal BJP MPs resign as MLAs". The Hindu.</ref> Jayanta Naskar, TMC MLA of Gosaba, died from COVID-19 on 19 June after testing negative for the disease.<ref>"TMC MLA Jayanta Naskar succumbs to COVID-19, CM Mamata Banerjee pays condolence". Times Now. 20 June 2021.</ref><ref>"সমাপ্ত মাস দুয়েকের লড়াই, চলে গেলেন গোসাবার বিধায়ক জয়ন্ত নস্কর". Asianet News Network Pvt Ltd.</ref><ref>"TMC MLA Jayanta Naskar dies after testing negative for Covid-19". The New Indian Express. 19 June 2021.</ref>

Appointments

Adhikari, with the support of 22 MLAs, was elected as Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly on 10 May 2021.<ref>"Suvendu Adhikari elected as the Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly". India TV. 10 May 2021.</ref><ref>"Ex-TMC minister Suvendu Adhikari becomes leader of the opposition in Bengal". Hindustan Times. 10 May 2021.</ref>

BJP MPs Subhash Sarkar from Bankura, John Barla from Alipurduar, Nisith Pramanik from Coochbehar, and Shantanu Thakur from Bangaon were made ministers-of-state in the Union Cabinet after the polls.<ref>"Dilip Ghosh makes 'U' turn, says not in favour of division of Bengal". The Economic Times. 24 August 2021.</ref>

Incumbent Cabinet ministers from the state, Babul Supriyo from Asansol and Debasree Chaudhuri from Raiganj, resigned from their positions due to their failure in rallying the voters from their respective constituencies to vote for BJP.<ref>"Modi inducts four new ministers from Bengal, with 2024 LS polls in sight". The Times of India. 8 July 2021.</ref> After the Cabinet reshuffle, Supriyo stated that he was quitting politics and his position as an MP, but after meeting the leaders of BJP, he decided to retain his position as an MP. He later joined TMC, stating that he wanted to remain in politics but his political participation was being restricted by BJP due to his defeat from Tollyganj and the party's poor performance in Asanol.<ref>What Made Ex-Union Minister Babul Supriyo Join TMC Just Days After Quitting BJP, 18 September 2021, retrieved 4 October 2021</ref>

Abhishek Banerjee was promoted from the president of state TMC's youth wing to all-India general secretary.<ref>"Mamata nephew Abhishek Banerjee appointed TMC's national general secretary". The Indian Express. 5 June 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.</ref>

Long time RSS activist and Balurghat MP Sukanta Majumdar succeeded Dilip Ghosh as the president of the state BJP unit, while Ghosh was made one of the national vice-presidents of the party.<ref>"Why BJP Removed Dilip Ghosh as Bengal Unit President Before the End of His Tenure". The Wire. 21 September 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.</ref>

Defections

The Union Home Ministry decided to provide Y+ category security to Sisir Adhikari and his son Dibyendu Adhikari.<ref>"Dibyendu Adhikari to meet BJP top brass in Delhi, decide on leaving TMC". ANI. 18 March 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.</ref><ref>""Received Invitation From BJP, Yet To Make A Decision": Dibyendu Adhikari". NDTV. 19 March 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.</ref><ref>"BJP Leader Suvendu Adhikari's Father Sisir, Brother Dibyendu to Get Y+ Security". News18. 22 May 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.</ref>

East Bardhaman MP Sunil Mondal, who had earlier defected from TMC to BJP alongside Adhikari in 2020,<ref name=1751135.>"Suvendu Adhikari ends all speculation, joins BJP, delivers jolt to Mamata and TMC". India Today. 19 December 2020.</ref> declared in August that he was "always with the TMC".<ref>"I am always with TMC: BJP MP Sunil Mondal says 'Suvendu Adhikari had misled me'". The Free Press Journal. 2 August 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.</ref>

Adhikari demanded that the speaker Biman Banerjee dismiss Mukul Roy from the legislative assembly according to the anti-defection law, but TMC stated if Adhikari's father Sisir Adhikari can remain the MP from Kanthi even after switching from TMC to BJP in early 2021, then Roy should be allowed to as well.<ref>"Suvendu Vows Legal Route if Mukul Roy Fails to Resign as BJP MLA by June 15, TMC Asks About His MP Dad". news18.com. 14 June 2021.</ref>

Four other MLAs – Soumen Roy from Kaliaganj,<ref>"BJP MLA from West Bengal's Kaliaganj joins TMC". hindustantimes.com. 4 September 2021.</ref> Biswajit Das from Bagda,<ref>"Bengal BJP MLA Biswajit Das rejoins TMC, third leader to return after Mamata Banerjee's win". indianexpress.com. 31 August 2021.</ref> Tanmoy Ghosh from Bishnupur<ref>"BJP MLA Tanmoy Ghosh joins Trinamool Congress". The Hindu. 30 August 2021.</ref> and Krishna Kalyani from Raiganj<ref>"Bengal BJP MLA from Raiganj Krishna Kalyani resigns from party". indiatoday.com. 1 October 2021.</ref><ref>"BJP MLA Krishna Kalyani joins TMC, fifth legislator to switch over". Deccan Herald. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.</ref><ref>"Raiganj MLA joins Trinamool Congress". The Hindu. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.</ref><ref>"West Bengal MLA Krishna Kalyani joins TMC weeks after quitting BJP". Scroll.in. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.</ref> switched from BJP to TMC following Roy without being disqualified from their membership. All-India president of Congress's women's wing and its national spokesperson and former Silchar MP Sushmita Dev joined TMC,<ref>"Sushmita Dev, former Congress MP, joins Trinamool as Mamata expands base". hindustantimes.com. 16 August 2021.</ref> and was followed by Luizinho Faleiro.<ref>"Former Goa CM Luizinho Faleiro Joins TMC". The Times of India. 29 September 2021.</ref><ref>"Ex-Goa CM Luizinho Faleiro joins TMC in presence of Abhishek Banerjee". India Today. 29 September 2021.</ref><ref>"Setback for Congress, former Goa CM Luizinho Faleiro joins TMC". livemint.com. 29 September 2021.</ref>

After joining TMC,<ref>"MP Babul Supriyo quits BJP, joins Trinamool". The Hindu. 18 September 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.</ref><ref>"2 months after he was dropped at Centre, BJP MP Babul Supriyo joins TMC". The Indian Express. 19 September 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.</ref> Supriyo resigned as MP on 19 October.<ref>"Babul Supriyo formally resigns as MP". The Times of India. 19 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.</ref><ref>"Babul Supriyo Resignation: আনুষ্ঠানিক বিচ্ছেদ সাঙ্গ, শেষমেশ 'হৃদয়ের' কাছে 'প্রাক্তন' হলেন বাবুল সুপ্রিয়!". News18 Bangla (in Bengali). 27 October 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2021.</ref>

2021 by-polls

Main article: 2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly by-elections

The ECI deferred the elections in Samserganj and Jangipur constituencies due to the death of two candidates.<ref name=":4" />

AITC MLA Sovandeb Chattopadhyay from Bhabanipur resigned after the election to allow Mamata Banerjee to contest a by-election in the constituency.<ref>"WB CM Mamata Banerjee To Contest By-Election From Bhawanipore After TMC MLA's Resignation". news.abplive.com. 21 May 2021. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.</ref>

In the beginning of September, the ECI announced that general elections for Jangipur and Samserganj assembly seats and by-election for Bhabanipur seat would be held on 30 September and votes would be counted on 3 October. The time limit for filing nominations was set from 6 September until 13 September for Bhabanipur only.<ref name=adjourned_poll>"Schedule to fill casual vacancy and adjourned poll in the Assembly Constituencies – regarding". Election Commission of India. 4 September 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.</ref><ref name="bypoll" /><ref>"EC announces bypoll for Bhabanipur Assembly constituency in Bengal". The Hindu. 4 September 2021. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 4 September 2021.</ref> Mamata Banerjee filed hers on 10 September.<ref>"Mamata Banerjee files nomination for upcoming by-election in Bhabanipur Assembly constituency". NewsOnAir. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.</ref><ref>"West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee files papers for crucial bypoll, BJP pits gritty lawyer against her". The Times of India. 11 September 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.</ref> A total of 12 candidates contested in Bhabanipur by-poll.<ref>"Yoga trainer, pickle seller among 11 to take on Mamata in bypoll". The Times of India. 20 September 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.</ref><ref>"Bhabanipur by election: From yoga trainer to pickle seller… know who is contesting against Mamta Banerjee from Bhawanipur seat and why?". The Indian Nation. 20 September 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.</ref> Kishor enrolled himself as a voter from Bhabanipur, but he did not cast his vote.<ref>"Bengal Assembly Bypolls: Prashant Kishor Enrolled As Voter From Bhabanipur; BJP Calls Him 'Bahiragato'". india.com. 26 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.</ref><ref>"Prashant Kishor enrolls himself as voter from Mamata's Bhabanipur constituency; triggers controversy". The Tribune. 27 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.</ref>

A total of 52 central forces companies were deployed to the three poll-bound Assembly constituencies' booths.<ref>"BJP plea: Central forces in booths of three constituencies". The Telegraph. 14 September 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2021.</ref><ref>"Assembly bypolls: 52 companies of central forces may be deployed". The Statesman. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2021.</ref><ref>"Election Commission to deploy central forces for Bengal bypolls". The Telegraph. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.</ref><ref name=the_wall>"ভবানীপুর, সামশেরগঞ্জ, জঙ্গিপুর-কোথায় কত ভোটার, থাকছে কত বাহিনী, জানুন বিস্তারিত". The Wall (in Bengali). 27 September 2021. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.</ref> Section 144 was enforced in Bhabanipur on 28 September.<ref>"Section 144 imposed in Bengal's Bhabanipur from today till end of bypoll". India Today. 28 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.</ref><ref>"Bhabanipur bypolls: Section 144 imposed in 200-metre radius of polling stations till voting ends on September 30". The Free Press Journal. 29 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.</ref> On the eve of polling, the Commission deployed an additional 20 companies of central forces in Bhabanipur.<ref>"Security beefed up for Bhabanipur bypoll, 20 additional CAPF companies to be deployed". India Today. 29 September 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.</ref><ref>"Unprecedented Security Arrangements Made For Bhabanipur Bypoll". Ommcom News. 29 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.</ref><ref>"Bhabanipur Bypolls Tomorrow: More Than 20 Additional Companies Of CAPF Deployed | Details Here". india.com. 29 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.</ref>

On 28 September, the ECI announced that remaining by-polls would be held on 30 October and votes counted on 2 November.<ref>"Schedule for Bye-elections in Parliamentary/Assembly Constituencies of various States – reg". Election Commission of India. 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.</ref><ref>"Three Lok Sabha, 30 Assembly Seats to Go for By-elections on Oct 30: Election Commission". News18. 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.</ref>

On 30 September the first report of violence came from Samserganj, and Congress candidate Jaidur Rahaman was accused of carrying out a bombing in this constituency.<ref>"West Bengal by-polls: Congress leader accused of bombing in Samserganj area, TMC calls it 'bid to intimidate voters'". The Economic Times. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.</ref> TMC activists raised "go back" slogans surrounding him while he inspected booths on polling day. Central forces were accused of kicking TMC leader Habibur Rahman, the outgoing councilor of Ward 20 of Dhulian Municipality under Samserganj Assembly.<ref>"Samserganj Jangipur By Election: ভোটারদের মাস্ক দিতে গিয়ে কেন্দ্রীয় বাহিনীর লাথি খেলেন বিদায়ী কাউন্সিলর! বৃদ্ধ নেতার চোখ ছলছল". TV9 Bangla (in Bengali). 30 September 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.</ref><ref>"Jangipur and Samsherganj Poll: বৃষ্টি নিয়েই বিক্ষিপ্ত অশান্তির ভোট জঙ্গিপুর এবং শমসেরগঞ্জে, প্রতীক্ষা রবিবারের". Anandabazar Patrika Online (in Bengali). 30 September 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.</ref> Priyanka Tibrewal, BJP candidate of Bhabanipur, was accused of violating the ECI's model code of conduct by travelling across the area with many cars and people at once.<ref>WB Bypolls 2021: ভোটারদের 'ভোট দিতে বাধা' দিচ্ছে BJP, দেবেন্দ্র ঘোষ রোডে বিক্ষোভে বাসিন্দারা| (in Bengali). ABP ANANDA. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021 – via YouTube.</ref><ref>ভবানীপুর কেন্দ্রে বুথ পরিভ্রমণে প্রিয়াঙ্কা টিব্রেওয়ালের বিরুদ্ধে অভিযোগ (in Bengali). Kolkata Tv. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021 – via YouTube.</ref> After she claimed to have caught fake voters, Firhad Hakim pointed out that as a candidate she had no right to check their identities.<ref>WB Bypolls 2021: 'ভুয়ো ভোটার ধরার প্রিয়ঙ্কা টিবরেওয়ালের অধিকার নেই', মন্তব্য ফিরহাদের| Bangla News (in Bengali). ABP ANANDA. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021 – via YouTube.</ref> BJP leader Kalyan Chaubey's car was allegedly vandalised in Bhabanipur and BJP blamed TMC for the act.<ref>বিজেপি নেতা কল্যান চৌবের গাড়ি ভাঙচুর (in Bengali). Kolkata Tv. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021 – via YouTube.</ref> Police released CCTV footage of the incident, claiming it had nothing to do with politics.<ref>WB By Poll 2021: গাড়ি ভাঙচুরে রাজনৈতিক কোনও সম্পর্ক নেই, সিসিটিভি ফুটেজ প্রকাশ করে দাবি পুলিশের (in Bengali). ABP ANANDA. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021 – via YouTube.</ref><ref>বিজেপি নেতা কল্যান চৌবের গাড়ি ভাংচুরের সিসিটিভি ফুটেজ (in Bengali). Kolkata Tv. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021 – via YouTube.</ref> BJP claimed that Chaubey was their candidate's election agent but according to Commission sources, he was the agent of a Hindustani Awam Morcha candidate. The vehicle he used to get to the polling constituency was not registered by the EC. BJP lodged a total of 23 complaints against TMC over the voting process in Bhabanipur, but the ECI dismissed all of them.<ref>"বঙ্গের ৩ বিধানসভা আসনে ভোট: সামসেরগঞ্জের ৯ কেন্দ্রে ফের ভোটের দাবি কংগ্রেসের". Sangbad Pratidin (in Bengali). 30 September 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.</ref> A total of 697,164 voters were eligible to cast their votes in the three constituencies.<ref name=bartaman_159>"আজ ভোট মমতার | নির্বাচন জঙ্গিপুর ও সামশেরগঞ্জেও". Bartaman (in Bengali). 30 September 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021.</ref><ref name=ndtv_159>"Bhabanipur Bypoll Highlights: Moderate Turnout Recorded in Bengal's Bhabanipur". NDTV. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.</ref><ref name=news18_056>"Samserganj Election 2021: Assembly Elections News, Samserganj Constituency, Vidhan Sabha". News18. Retrieved 1 October 2021.</ref><ref name=news18_058>"Jangipur Election 2021: Assembly Elections News, Jangipur Constituency, Vidhan Sabha". News18. Retrieved 1 October 2021.</ref> The voter turnout for Samserganj, Jangipur, and Bhabanipur was recorded at 79.92%, 77.63%, and 57.09% respectively.<ref>"Bengal polls: Over 57% voting in Bhabanipur, highest in Samserganj". Business Standard. 1 October 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.</ref><ref>"West Bengal: 57% turnout at Bhowanipore bypoll, highest polling in Chetla". The Times of India. 2 October 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.</ref>

Results were announced on 3 October, with TMC winning the three seats.<ref>"TMC bags all three seats as Mamata Banerjee wins big from Bhabanipur". The Tribune. 3 October 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.</ref> Mamata Banerjee won the Bhabanipur Assembly seat by a margin of 58,835 votes over the BJP candidate.<ref name=Constituencywise/><ref name=Roundwise>"Election Commission of India". results.eci.gov.in. Archived from the original on 3 October 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021.</ref><ref name=partywise>"Election Commission of India". results.eci.gov.in. Archived from the original on 3 October 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021.</ref> TMC led in all wards of Bhabanipur, including wards 70 and 74, where BJP led in the last assembly polls.<ref>"শোভনদেবের পিছিয়ে থাকা দুই ওয়ার্ডেই বাজিমাত মমতার". The Indian Express Bangla (in Bengali). 3 October 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.</ref> On the same day, TMC officially announced a list of candidates for upcoming assembly by-elections to four seats.<ref>"West Bengal Assembly by-elections: TMC announces candidates for four seats". Zee News. 3 October 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.</ref>

The Model Code of Conduct was imposed in Nadia, Cooch Behar, Khardaha, and Gosaba.<ref>"আচরণবিধি শুধু দু'টি বিধানসভা কেন্দ্রেই". Bartaman (in Bengali). 8 October 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.</ref> The ECI initially deployed 27 companies of central forces for the remaining by-elections.<ref>"Election Commission orders 27 companies of CAPF for West Bengal bypolls". India Today. 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.</ref><ref>"Bengal to get 27 companies of central forces for Oct 30 bypolls". The Times of India. 10 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.</ref> A week before the by-elections, an additional 53 companies entered the state.<ref>"WB by-polls: EC orders to deploy additional 53 companies of CAPF". ANI. 19 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.</ref> Later, the ECI decided to deploy a total of 92 CAPF companies.<ref>"92 CAPF companies for Bengal bypolls". The Times of India. 22 October 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2021.</ref>

On the last day of the Dinhata by-election campaign, Dilip Ghosh and Sukanta Majumdar met the deputy inspector general of police, Shailendra Kumar Singh, at the Border Security Force sector headquarters of Sonari in Cooch Behar. This was controversial because the Chief Minister could not even hold administrative meetings with Cooch Behar district officials, as the model code of conduct was in effect. Reacting to this, Hakim said "Recently, the Ministry of Home Affairs has increased the jurisdiction of BSF to 50&nbsp;km.<ref>"BSF now has uniform 50&nbsp;km jurisdiction in border states for arrest, search, seizure". ANI. 13 October 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.</ref><ref>"BSF now has uniform 50&nbsp;km jurisdiction to arrest, search, seize in border states". The Economic Times. 13 October 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.</ref><ref>"Changes in BSF Law to Bring One-Third Area in West Bengal Under Central Agency". The Wire. 19 October 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.</ref> Taking advantage of this, the BJP leaders went to pull the BSF chief over to their side." TMC lodged a complaint with the ECI.<ref>"Silip Ghosh: বিএসএফের ডিআইজির সঙ্গে বৈঠক দিলীপের, উপনির্বাচনের আগে সাক্ষাৎ নিয়ে প্রশ্ন তৃণমূলের". Anandabazar (in Bengali). 27 October 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.</ref><ref>"দিনহাটা ভোটের মুখে বিএসএফ কর্তার কাছে দিলীপ-সুকান্ত | অভিসন্ধি নিয়ে সরব তৃণমূল". Bartaman (in Bengali). 28 October 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.</ref> A TMC deputy went to the district magistrate's chamber and complained that the BSF-BJP meeting had violated the model code of conduct.<ref>"ছবি তোলায় বর্তমান-এর চিত্রসাংবাদিকের ক্যামেরা কেড়ে ডিলিট করে দিলেন ডিএম". Bartaman (in Bengali). 29 October 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2021.</ref>

On polling day, central forces were accused of intimidating voters at booth 296 in Dinhata and some other booths in Kharadaha and Gosaba.<ref>"'বিজেপির অভিযোগ ভিত্তিহীন' , মন্তব্য উদয়নের". MBharat (in Bengali). 30 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.</ref><ref>"WB By-Election: চার কেন্দ্রে উপনির্বাচন মোটের উপর শান্তিপূর্ণ, ভোটদানের হার সবথেকে কম খড়দহে". Anandabazar (in Bengali). 30 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.</ref> In Kharadha, the central forces prevented TMC candidate Sovandeb Chattopadhyay from entering a booth, who alleged that they unfairly demanded to see double vaccination certificates from voters. The problem was resolved after informing the matter to the presiding officer.<ref>কেন্দ্রীয় বাহিনীর অতি সক্রিয়তার অভিযোগে শোভনদেব চট্টোপাধ্যায়ের মন্তব্য (in Bengali). Kolkata Tv. 30 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021 – via YouTube.</ref><ref>মুখোমুখি শোভনদেব চট্টোপাধ্যায় (in Bengali). Kolkata Tv. 30 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021 – via YouTube.</ref> During the election campaign, Joy Saha, BJP candidate of Khardaha, used a picture of the deceased TMC leader Kajal Sinha in his campaign.<ref>"খড়দহে প্রচারে ফিরহাদ, বিজেপি ছেড়ে তৃণমূলে যোগ ৩৫০ কর্মীর". Bartaman (in Bengali). 25 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.</ref> On election day, he claimed to have caught two fake voters red-handed, which was proven false. When he claimed to have caught a fake voter and BJP supporters started harassing the man, a fight broke out between the TMC and the BJP over the incident.<ref>আজকের জেলারর সারাদিন (in Bengali). Kolkata Tv. 30 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021 – via YouTube.</ref> Joy Saha's personal security guards baton charged TMC activists, injuring the Sinha's son in the process.<ref>"Bypoll Live Updates – নিশীথের বিরুদ্ধে কমিশনে অভিযোগ তৃণমূলের, ভোটের শেষ বেলায় তন্ময়কে তোপ পার্থর". Asianet News Bangla (in Bengali). 30 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.</ref><ref>"WB Bypoll: উদয়ন গুহর প্রার্থীপদ প্রত্যাহারের দাবিতে নির্বাচন কমিশনে চিঠি বিজেপির". Sangbad Pratidin (in Bengali). 30 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.</ref> Gosaba registered highest voter turnout among four constituencies.<ref>"Over 71% voter turnout in bypolls to West Bengal, recorded till 5 pm". Business Standard. 31 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.</ref><ref>"With more than 79% voter turnout, Gosaba records highest polling percentage". Millennium Post. 1 November 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.</ref>

The results of the four constituencies was announced on 2 November, with TMC winning all seats.<ref>"Election Commission of India". results.eci.gov.in. Archived from the original on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.</ref> TMC's Sovandeb Chattopadhyay and Subrata Mondal won Khardaha<ref>"Election Commission of India". results.eci.gov.in. Archived from the original on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.</ref> and Gosaba,<ref>"Election Commission of India". results.eci.gov.in. Archived from the original on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.</ref> respectively, by huge margins. Udayan Guha, who lost the Dinhata seat by a margin of 57 votes during the assembly election, won the seat in the bypolls by a margin of 164,089 votes.<ref>"Election Commission of India". results.eci.gov.in. Archived from the original on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.</ref> TMC also won the Santipur seat, where Braja Kishor Goswami<ref>"নাম ঘোষণা হতেই প্রচারে তৃণমূলের প্রার্থী ব্রজকিশোর গোস্বামী ও সুব্রত মণ্ডল, শুরু দেওয়াল লিখন". Sangbad Pratidin (in Bengali). 3 October 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2021.</ref> was the TMC candidate, from the BJP by a considerable margin of votes.<ref>"Election Commission of India". results.eci.gov.in. Archived from the original on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.</ref>

2021–2026 by-elections

Date	Constituency		Previous MLA			Reason	Elected MLA
30 September 2021	159	Bhabanipur	Sovandeb Chattopadhyay		Trinamool Congress	Resigned on 21 May 2021<ref>"Bhabanipur MLA Sovandeb Resigns Amid Indications That Mamata Will Return To Her Old Seat". News18. Retrieved 22 May 2021.</ref>	Mamata Banerjee		Trinamool Congress
30 October 2021	7	Dinhata	Nisith Pramanik		Bharatiya Janata Party	Resigned on 12 May 2021<ref>"2 West Bengal BJP MPs resign as MLAs". Economic Times. 12 May 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.</ref>	Udayan Guha
	86	Santipur	Jagannath Sarkar	Braja Kishore Goswami
	109	Khardaha	Kajal Sinha		Trinamool Congress	Died on 25 April 2021<ref>"Covid-19 positive TMC candidate Kajal Sinha dies at Kolkata hospital". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 25 April 2021.</ref>	Sovandeb Chattopadhyay
	127	Gosaba	Jayanta Naskar	Died on 19 June 2021<ref>"3-Time Trinamool Congress MLA Jayanta Naskar Dies". NDTV. Retrieved 20 June 2021.</ref>	Subrata Mondal
12 April 2022	161	Ballygunge	Subrata Mukherjee	Died on 4 November 2021<ref>Singh, Shiv Sahay (4 November 2021). "Bengal Minister Subrata Mukherjee dies at 75". The Hindu. Retrieved 5 November 2021.</ref>	Babul Supriyo
27 February 2023	60	Sagardighi	Subrata Saha	Died on 29 December 2022<ref>"Minister of State Subrata Saha dies at 69". The Indian Express. 30 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.</ref>	Bayron Biswas<ref>"Sagardighi Bypoll Election Result 2023: Congress Leads From West Bengal Assembly Seat In Setback For Mamata Banerjee's TMC". Zee News. Retrieved 10 June 2023.</ref>		Indian National Congress
5 September 2023	15	Dhupguri	Bishnu Pada Roy		Bharatiya Janata Party	Died on 25 July 2023<ref>"BJP MLA from Dhupguri Bishnu Pada Ray dies, PM Modi, Mamata condole his death". The Indian Express. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023.</ref>	Nirmal Chandra Roy		Trinamool Congress
7 May 2024	62	Bhagabangola	Idris Ali		Trinamool Congress	Died on 16 February 2024<ref>"TMC MLA Idris Ali dies from illness". Deccan Herald. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2024.</ref>	Reyat Hossain Sarkar
1 June 2024	113	Baranagar	Tapas Roy	Resigned on 4 March 2024<ref>"Trinamool MLA Tapas Roy quits party, resigns from assembly". The Hindu. 4 March 2024. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 11 March 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2024.</ref>	Sayantika Banerjee
10 July 2024	35	Raiganj	Krishna Kalyani		Bharatiya Janata Party	Resigned on 27 March 2024<ref>"Krishna Kalyani resigns as Raiganj MLA following Lok Sabha nomination by TMC". Telegraph India. 28 March 2024. Archived from the original on 29 April 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2024.</ref>	Krishna Kalyani
	90	Ranaghat Dakshin	Mukut Mani Adhikari	Resigned on 19 April 2024<ref>"Bengal: Another turncoat MLA resigns, Biswajit Das to contest from Bangaon on TMC ticket". Jagran (in हिन्दी). 19 April 2024. Archived from the original on 19 April 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.</ref>	Mukut Mani Adhikari
	94	Bagdah	Biswajit Das		Madhuparna Thakur
	167	Maniktala	Sadhan Pande		Trinamool Congress	Died on 20 February 2022<ref>"West Bengal Cabinet Minister Sadhan Pande passes away at 71". The Indian Express. 20 February 2022. Archived from the original on 8 November 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2022.</ref>	Supti Pandey
13 November 2024	6	Sitai	Jagadish Basunia	Elected to Lok Sabha on 4 June 2024	Sangita Roy
	14	Madarihat	Manoj Tigga			Bharatiya Janata Party	Jay Prakash Toppo
	104	Naihati	Partha Bhowmick			Trinamool Congress	Sanat Dey
	121	Haroa	Haji Nurul Islam		Sheikh Rabiul Islam
	236	Medinipur	June Malia		Sujoy Hazra
	251	Taldangra	Arup Chakraborty		Falguni Singhababu
19 June 2025	80	Kaliganj	Nasiruddin Ahamed	Died on 1 February 2025<ref>"Veteran TMC MLA Nasiruddin Ahmed dies of cardiac arrest in West Bengal". The Times of India. 2 February 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2025.</ref>	Alifa Ahmed

See also

• 2023 West Bengal local elections
• 2021 Kolkata Municipal Corporation election
• 2021 elections in India
• 2016–21 West Bengal Legislative Assembly by-elections
• 2016 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election
• 2019 Indian general election in West Bengal
• 2024 Indian general election in West Bengal

Further reading

• Halder, Deep (2021). Bengal 2021: An Election Diary. India: HarperCollins. ISBN 9789354224171.

External links

• West Bengal General Legislative Election at the Election Commission of India