Looks like the ground is finally shifting in Bengal. After fifteen years of Didi ruling the roost, the early trends are painting the state in a bright, unmistakable saffron.
We’ve had about three hours of counting so far, and if you look at the TV screens or refresh the Election Commission’s site, the numbers are pretty staggering. The BJP has surged past the halfway mark in early trends. They’re leading in over 175 seats out of the 293 that officials are counting today. To put that in perspective, the magic majority number is 148.
Mamata Banerjee’s TMC is sitting way back, hovering around 115 seats. Now, before anyone starts popping champagne or throwing around gulal, it’s important to remember that these are still just trends. We all remember previous elections where the initial hours looked like a rout only for everything to flip by the afternoon. But right now? The momentum is undeniably with the BJP.
The Bhabanipur Drama
You can gauge just how messy a day the situation is by looking at the kind of electoral battle going on at Bhabanipur. It’s a total seesaw. Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari are at it yet again, with the lead swapping hands in almost every round.
At first Adhikari was leading by almost 1,500 votes. The third round of counting EVMs was completed, and Mamata nudged ahead again with 9,359 votes against Adhikari’s 8,461.
It’s almost even. You can almost sense how stressed everyone is, just by watching on television. Adhikari has stated he’s going to win as the later voting stages unfold and votes from Hindu voters become a solid block, but the TMC camp is just waiting to see what happens.
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Cracks in the Strongholds
The real shocker this morning isn’t just Kolkata. The BJP is actually making massive gains in places the TMC used to consider completely safe.
Take Diamond Harbour, for instance. That’s Abhishek Banerjee’s absolute fortress. Yet, the BJP’s Dipak Kumar Halder took a lead of over 2,500 votes in the very first round of counting. When you start seeing numbers like that in the nephew’s backyard, you know the anti-incumbency isn’t just a talking point—it’s very real.
And it’s a similar story for some of Didi’s heavyweights. People like Udayan Guha in Dinhata and Shashi Panja in Shyampukur are trailing. The only real bright spot for the TMC right now is Kolkata Port, where Mayor Firhad Hakim is holding on.
The 92% Turnout and the Voter List Mess
So, how did we get here? Well, the turnout was absolutely insane. We saw over 92% of voters coming out across the two phases in April. That kind of massive participation usually screams that people want a change, and the early numbers are certainly backing that up.
But you can’t talk about this election without mentioning the massive row over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter rolls. The Election Commission deleted around 89 lakh names—roughly 11.6% of the state’s electorate—due to discrepancies. Mamata has been up in arms about it for weeks, calling it a targeted move to delete minority voters who back the TMC. That bitterness isn’t going away anytime soon, no matter who wins.
As for the Left and the Congress? They’re practically invisible again. The CPM managed to pull ahead in a single seat, Domkal, earlier this morning, but the Congress is still struggling to even open its account.
There are still plenty of rounds left to go, and things could slow down because the EC is doing incredibly strict checks on the EVMs today. But as it stands at mid-day, the TMC’s “Khela Hobe” slogan sounds a bit hollow. It looks more like Khela Shesh for Didi.
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References / Sources:
- Election Commission of India – Live Results
- Indian Express – West Bengal Results Live
- Times of India – Bhabanipur Live
- India Today – Diamond Harbour Trends
- Wikipedia – 2026 West Bengal Election
- BBC – SIR Voter Deletions
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