Mamata Banerjee

Humayun Kabir had announced his party would contest 182 seats and fielded Yasin Haidar, former son-in-law of Hakim, from Kandi constituency.

Owaisi accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of doing injustice to Muslims in the state by cancelling OBC certificates of at least five lakh community members.

West Bengal goes to the polls in April 2026 to elect 294 assembly members, with phase 1 on April 23 and phase 2 on April 29. Results will be announced on May 4

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee described the upcoming assembly elections as a battle to protect democratic rights and Bengal's plural social fabric.

“Bengal believes in unity. Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians - everyone lives together here. We will not allow anyone to break this social fabric,” she said.

Addressing a press conference during the release of the TMC's election manifesto, she claimed that an "unofficial President's Rule" has been imposed in the state ahead of the polls.

In a letter addressed to the Chief Election Commissioner and the Chief Electoral Officer of Assam, Trinamool Congress stated that the enclosed list includes its designated star campaigners for the ensuing assembly elections in the state.

TMC leaders, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Sagarika Ghose, Moloy Ghatak, Satabdi Roy, Saayoni Ghosh, Shanta Chettri, June Maliah, Mosaraf Hussen and Dulu Ahmed, as also part of the 18-member star campaigner panel.

Banerjee, who is seeking a fourth straight term, said the manifesto has her 10 'protigyas' (pledges), which will be fulfilled once her party returns to power after the upcoming elections.

In her letter, Banerjee expressed concern over the Commission's actions since the start of the "Special Intensive Revision," claiming that it has acted with apparent bias and ignored ground realities and public welfare.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, once a fringe player in Bengal, has grown in strength over the years.

Continuing her criticism of the Election Commission of India, the Trinamool Congress chief alleged that the move reflected “systematic politicisation of institutions” and a “direct assault on the Constitution”

On March 7, President Droupadi Murmu went to Siliguri in north Bengal to address the 9th International Santhal Conference and pointed out lapses in preparations and protocols.

Poonum Begum, a non-Bengali Muslim candidate from Kabir's party, will be locking horns with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur constituency.

Leaders such as MK Stalin, Mamata Banerjee, Himanta Biswa Sarma and Pinarayi Vijayan are not just fighting for power in their states — they are also shaping the opposition narrative in the national context.

A preliminary reading of Trinamool Congress' (TMC) list of 291 candidates, released by party chief Mamata Banerjee, reinforces a trend, which the party has positively employed over the years.

Voting in West Bengal will take place in two phases on April 23 and April 29, 2026, with the counting of votes to be held on May 4.

The ruling Trinamool Congress on Tuesday announced its list of candidates for the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections, with party supremo Banerjee declaring that the party will contest 291 of the 294 seats in the state

In Bengal and Assam, Congress isn't much in contention, although in the northeastern state of Assam the party is involved in a direct bipolar contest with BJP lead by all-powerful Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Banerjee, a day after the Election Commission announced the poll dates for upcoming elections, addressed a rally in Kolkata, where she accused the saffron party of deliberately targeting the ruling party in Bengal.