West Bengal 2026: Lost in BJP-TMC bipolar din, once key players Congress, Left
The Statesman | 30 April 2026
As the final phase of the keenly watched West Bengal Assembly elections concluded on Wednesday and exit polls took over, a stark reality emerged. The 2026 elections have once again been largely a bipolar contest between the ruling TMC and the BJP, with the former kingmakers ~ the Left and the Congress ~ pushed to the margins.
Both sides have been attempting to regain relevance after their complete wipeout in the 2021 Assembly polls, when, for the first time in the state’s history, neither secured a single seat in a region where they once dominated. The most significant political shift ahead of the 2026 elections was the collapse of the Left-Congress alliance and a key takeaway at the end of polling is that these former power centres have, at best, been reduced to spoilers.
Political observers note that support for the once-dominant parties has declined so sharply that they would need a “magic wand” to re-enter the Assembly. Opinion polls also placed them far behind the two principal contenders ~ the BJP and the TMC. Ground reports suggest that, at the most, their influence in 60-70 crucial seats, particularly in minority-heavy districts, could disrupt the electoral arithmetic for either the ruling TMC or the challenger, BJP.
In the current political landscape, even small vote shifts can alter outcomes, especially in closely contested constituencies.
Beyond the question of whether the BJP or the TMC will prevail, a key issue is how the Congress and the Left ~ once dominant forces in Bengal ~ reached this point.
Observers describe their decline as a story of gradual erosion, strategic missteps, and a major shift in voter perception that accelerated after the 2011 elections, when Mamata Banerjee came to power. That election marked not just a change in government but a fundamental realignment, with the TMC replacing the Left as the state’s dominant force.
In subsequent years, the BJP displaced the Left-Congress combine as the principal Opposition.
Led by the CPI-M, the Left Front ruled West Bengal for 34 years (1977-2011). Its decline has been attributed to several factors. Violent protests in Singur and Nandigram (2006-2008) over land acquisition for industrial projects damaged its pro-farmer image. Over time, the party and the state administration also became closely intertwined, giving rise to a perception of a partisan bureaucracy and an “us versus them”. Democratic fatigue also set in, and the passing of stalwarts such as Jyoti Basu and Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee created a leadership vacuum that remains unfilled.
After 2011, a significant section of the Left’s traditional voter base shifted to the BJP, seeing it as a stronger challenger to the TMC.
For the 2026 elections, the Left Front allied with regional players such as the Indian Secular Front and the Janata Unnayan Party, fielding young candidates to connect with new voters, and focusing on promises of industrialisation and job guarantees, including for the rural poor.
As for the Congress, it has not been in power in the state since 1977. Its challenges are different from Left ~ as related to the emergence of the TMC, when Mamata Banerjee broke away, taking with her much of the party’s grassroots base. For years now, the Congress has struggled to balance opposing the TMC in the state while aligning with at the national level, creating a confusing political stance that hindered cadre consolidation. Now even its traditional strongholds have eroded due to the TMC’s welfare outreach and the BJP’s rise.