These 123 seats are the ground beneath her feet.
As West Bengal's mandatory silence descended on Monday evening, the second and most consequential phase of the 2026 assembly elections drew near — 142 constituencies preparing to vote on April 29 in a contest that will test whether Mamata Banerjee's three-decade grip on the state can withstand the BJP's most determined challenge yet. Of those seats, TMC held 123 in 2021, making this not merely an election but a referendum on a political identity built over a generation. The answers, arriving May 4 alongside results from four other states, will offer a rare and sweeping glimpse into the direction of Indian democracy.
- TMC's entire majority rests on this phase — losing even a fraction of its 123 held seats here would be a political earthquake for Mamata Banerjee.
- Clashes between TMC and BJP workers in Baranagar during the final campaign hours signaled how raw and combustible the contest has become on the ground.
- PM Modi framed his campaign as a spiritual pilgrimage rather than a political battle, while Yogi Adityanath and Amit Shah held high-energy rallies promising UCC implementation and an end to TMC rule.
- Mamata Banerjee walked the streets of Bhabanipur on foot in a deliberate show of grassroots connection — but faces Suvendu Adhikari on the same ballot, turning her own constituency into a personal duel.
- The candidacy of Ratna Debnath — mother of the RG Kar rape and murder victim — in Panihati transforms one local race into a moral reckoning that transcends electoral arithmetic.
- Polls open Wednesday; the full picture of West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry lands on May 4 in what amounts to a single-day national political verdict.
By Monday evening, the loudspeakers had gone quiet across West Bengal. The silence period had begun — and with it, the final reckoning of a campaign that had consumed the state for weeks. On April 29, voters in 142 constituencies will cast ballots in the second and decisive phase of the 2026 assembly elections, a vote that will largely determine whether Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress holds Bengal or whether the BJP finally breaks through.
The stakes are concrete. TMC won 123 of those 142 seats in 2021 — Mamata's South Bengal strongholds, the neighborhoods that have defined her political identity for three decades. Holding them cements her dominance for another five years. Losing a significant share would be seismic. Results for West Bengal and four other states — Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry — are all due May 4, a single day that will offer a sweeping read on the country's political temperature.
The final campaign hours were not without friction. In Baranagar, North 24 Parganas, TMC and BJP workers came face-to-face in a tense standoff that required intervention — a small incident that captured the temperature of a contest that has rarely been polite.
PM Modi spent his final day writing to Bengal's voters rather than appearing at another rally, describing the campaign as something closer to a pilgrimage than a political exercise and expressing confidence that the next chief minister would come from BJP's ranks. His colleagues were more visibly active: Yogi Adityanath held a roadshow in Kalyani, and Amit Shah drew large crowds in Behala Paschim, reiterating the BJP's promise to implement the Uniform Civil Code if it wins a majority.
Mamata Banerjee, meanwhile, walked the streets of Bhabanipur — her own constituency — in a padyatra that drew considerable crowds. The image was deliberate: the chief minister on foot, among her people. But she is not running unopposed. Suvendu Adhikari is also on the Bhabanipur ballot, making the seat a direct personal confrontation.
Several other candidacies carry weight beyond their individual contests. Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, Power Minister Aroop Biswas, and Education Minister Bratya Basu are all on the ballot for TMC, while former Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Das Gupta and actor Rupa Ganguly represent the BJP. Most poignantly, Ratna Debnath — the mother of the young doctor raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College two years ago — is the BJP's candidate in Panihati, running against a TMC incumbent who has held the seat since 1996. Her presence transforms that race into something far larger than a local contest. The polls open Wednesday. The answers come May 4.
By Monday evening, the loudspeakers had gone quiet across West Bengal. The silence period had begun, and with it, the final accounting of a campaign that had consumed the state for weeks. On Wednesday, April 29, voters in 142 constituencies will go to the polls in the second and decisive phase of the 2026 assembly elections — a vote that will, in large measure, determine whether Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress holds Bengal or whether the BJP finally breaks through.
The stakes are not abstract. Of those 142 seats, TMC won 123 of them in the 2021 assembly polls. These are Mamata's strongholds — South Bengal, Kolkata, the neighborhoods she has built her political identity around for three decades. Losing even a significant fraction of them would be a seismic shift. Holding them would cement her as the dominant force in the state for another five years.
The first phase, covering 152 seats, was held on April 23. Results for West Bengal, along with Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry, are all scheduled to be declared on May 4 — a single day that will offer a sweeping read on the country's political temperature.
The final hours of campaigning were not without friction. In Baranagar, in North 24 Parganas district, TMC and BJP workers came face-to-face during the last push before the silence period, producing a tense standoff that required intervention. It was a small incident in a large state, but it captured the temperature of a contest that has rarely been polite.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spent the day writing to the people of Bengal rather than appearing at another rally. In his letter, he described the campaign as something closer to a spiritual experience than a political one, saying the energy he encountered at roadshows and public gatherings felt like a pilgrimage, and that he drew strength from the devotees of Maa Kali he met along the way. He expressed confidence that the next chief minister of West Bengal would come from the BJP's ranks.
His party's other heavyweights were more visibly active. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held a roadshow in Kalyani, calling on voters to free themselves from what he described as the TMC's misrule. Union Minister Amit Shah drew large crowds in Behala Paschim, where he reiterated the BJP's promise to implement the Uniform Civil Code if the party wins a majority in the 294-seat assembly.
Mamata Banerjee, for her part, walked the streets of Bhabanipur — the constituency she is contesting — in a padyatra that drew supporters out in considerable numbers. It was a deliberate image: the chief minister on foot, among her people, in the neighborhood that has been her political home. She is not running unopposed there. Suvendu Adhikari, who contested from Nandigram in the first phase, is also on the ballot in Bhabanipur, making the seat a direct personal confrontation between the two.
The second phase ballot carries several names worth watching beyond Mamata herself. Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim is contesting from Kolkata Port. Power Minister Aroop Biswas is running in Tollyganj. Education Minister Bratya Basu is on the ballot in Dum Dum. On the BJP side, former Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Das Gupta is contesting from Rashbehari, and actor-turned-politician Rupa Ganguly is running in Donarpur Dakshin.
One candidacy carries a weight that goes beyond electoral arithmetic. Ratna Debnath — the mother of the young doctor who was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital two years ago — is the BJP's candidate in Panihati, North 24 Parganas. She is running against TMC's Nirmal Ghosh, who has held that seat for most of the period since 1996. Her presence on the ballot transforms Panihati into something more than a local contest.
Also on the ballot in the second phase is Nawsad Siddique of the Indian Secular Front, currently the only non-BJP opposition MLA in the state assembly. He is defending his Bhangar seat in South Parganas against TMC's Saokat Molla and Congress's Mahabubul Islam. The polls open Wednesday. The answers come May 4.
Citações Notáveis
These rallies and roadshows have felt like a pilgrimage to me — as I moved amongst the devotees of Maa Kali, it seemed as though she was continuously infusing me with fresh energy.— Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a letter to the people of West Bengal
Voters in Bengal have an opportunity to break free from anarchy and misrule and restore the state's past glory.— Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, at a roadshow in Kalyani
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does this second phase matter more than the first?
Because the 142 seats voting Wednesday are largely TMC territory — Kolkata, South Bengal, the constituencies Mamata has won repeatedly. If she loses ground here, it's not a setback, it's a collapse.
And if she holds them?
Then she's almost certainly returning as chief minister. The math is that simple. She won 123 of these 142 seats in 2021.
What's the significance of Suvendu Adhikari contesting in Bhabanipur against Mamata?
He already ran in Nandigram in the first phase. Running in Bhabanipur too makes him a kind of shadow candidate — following her, contesting her directly. It's a statement as much as a campaign.
Modi's letter felt unusual. Why write rather than rally?
The campaign was already over. The letter was about legacy and framing — putting his words on record before the silence period, describing the campaign as a pilgrimage. It's the kind of move you make when you want the last word.
Tell me about Ratna Debnath.
Her daughter was the doctor murdered at RG Kar hospital two years ago. That case shook the state. Now she's on the ballot in Panihati, running against a TMC incumbent who's held the seat since 1996. Whatever the result, her presence changes what that race means.
Is there a real opposition beyond BJP and TMC?
Barely. Nawsad Siddique of the Indian Secular Front is the only non-BJP opposition MLA in the entire assembly right now. He's defending his seat in Bhangar. The left, which once dominated Bengal, has been reduced to a footnote.