Kolkata, India — March 16, 2026
Political activity in West Bengal has intensified ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections after the Election Commission announced the voting schedule. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has released its first list of 144 candidates, marking the start of its campaign strategy across the state.
The list includes several senior leaders and prominent political figures. One of the most notable announcements is the nomination of Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari from two key constituencies — Nandigram and Bhabanipur.
Both constituencies hold major political significance in West Bengal politics, making this decision one of the most talked-about developments ahead of the election.
Suvendu Adhikari to Contest From Two High-Profile Seats
Suvendu Adhikari had previously contested the Nandigram seat in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, where he faced Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in a closely watched contest.
The election attracted national attention and resulted in a narrow victory for Adhikari. Mamata Banerjee later secured a win from Bhabanipur, which allowed her to continue as chief minister.
For the 2026 elections, the BJP has decided to field Adhikari from both Nandigram and Bhabanipur, signaling a strong political challenge to the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC).
Former Cricketer Ashok Dinda Renominated
Former Indian cricketer Ashok Dinda has once again been nominated from the Moyna Assembly constituency.
Dinda previously contested the same seat and won the election by a margin of 1,260 votes. His renomination suggests the party’s confidence in his local popularity and organizational support in the constituency.
Other Prominent Leaders Fielded
The BJP’s candidate list also includes several senior leaders:
Dilip Ghosh, former BJP West Bengal state president, will contest from Kharagpur Sadar.
Agnimitra Paul has been nominated from Asansol South.
Swapan Dasgupta, former Rajya Sabha MP, will contest from Rashbehari.
Party sources indicated that the selection process considered local political equations, grassroots support, and electoral viability.
Full List of BJP Candidates for West Bengal Assembly Elections (144 Seats)
| No. | Assembly Constituency | Candidate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cooch Behar North (SC) | Sukumar Roy |
| 2 | Sitalkuchi (SC) | Savitri Barman |
| 3 | Dinhata | Ajay Roy |
| 4 | Tufanganj | Malati Rava Roy |
| 5 | Kumargram (ST) | Manoj Kumar Oraon |
| 6 | Kalchini (ST) | Vishal Lama |
| 7 | Alipurduar | Paritosh Das |
| 8 | Falakata (SC) | Dipak Barman |
| 9 | Dabgram-Phulbari | Shikha Chatterjee |
| 10 | Nagrakata (ST) | Puna Bhengra |
| 11 | Matigara-Naxalbari (SC) | Anandamay Barman |
| 12 | Siliguri | Shankar Ghosh |
| 13 | Phansidewa (ST) | Durga Murmu |
| 14 | Goalpokhar | Sarjit Biswas |
| 15 | Chakulia | Manoj Jain |
| 16 | Karandighi | Biraj Biswas |
| 17 | Kaliaganj (SC) | Utpal Maharaj |
| 18 | Raiganj | Kaushik Chowdhury |
| 19 | Kushmandi (SC) | Tapas Chandra Roy |
| 20 | Kumarganj | Subhendu Sarkar |
| 21 | Balurghat | Bidyut Roy |
| 22 | Tapan (ST) | Budhrai Tudu |
| 23 | Gangarampur (SC) | Satyendra Nath Roy |
| 24 | Harirampur | Debabrata Majumdar |
| 25 | Habibpur (ST) | Joel Murmu |
| 26 | Gazole (SC) | Chinmay Deb Barman |
| 27 | Chanchal | Ratan Das |
| 28 | Maltipur | Ashish Das |
| 29 | Ratua | Abhishek Singhania |
| 30 | Manikchak | Gaur Chandra Mandal |
| 31 | Malda (SC) | Gopal Chandra Saha |
| 32 | Mothabari | Nibaran Ghosh |
| 33 | Sujapur | Abhiraj Chowdhury |
| 34 | Suti | Mahabir Ghosh |
| 35 | Raghunathganj | Surjit Poddar |
| 36 | Lalgola | Amar Kumar Das |
| 37 | Bhagabangola | Bhaskar Sarkar |
| 38 | Murshidabad | Gauri Shankar Ghosh |
| 39 | Rejinagar | Bapan Ghosh |
| 40 | Beldanga | Bharat Kumar Jhavar |
| 41 | Berhampore | Subrata Mitra |
| 42 | Hariharpara | Tanmay Biswas |
| 43 | Naoda | Rana Mondal |
| 44 | Domkal | Nanda Dulal Pal |
| 45 | Jalangi | Naba Kumar Sarkar |
| 46 | Karimpur | Samarendranath Ghosh |
| 47 | Palashipara | Anima Dutta |
| 48 | Kaliganj | Bapan Ghosh |
| 49 | Ranaghat North West | Parthasarathi Chatterjee |
| 50 | Ranaghat North East (SC) | Asim Biswas |
| 51 | Chakdaha | Bankim Chandra Ghosh |
| 52 | Haringhata (SC) | Asim Kumar Sarkar |
| 53 | Baduria | Sukriti Sarkar |
| 54 | Amdanga | Arindam Dey |
| 55 | Naihati | Soumitra Chatterjee |
| 56 | Bhatpara | Pawan Kumar Singh |
| 57 | Baranagar | Sajal Ghosh |
| 58 | Deganga | Tarun Kanti Ghosh |
| 59 | Basirhat North | Narayan Chandra Mondal |
| 60 | Basanti (SC) | Bikas Sardar |
| 61 | Kultali (SC) | Madhabi Mahaldar |
| 62 | Patharpratima | Asit Kumar Haldar |
| 63 | Kakdwip | Dipankar Jana |
| 64 | Raidighi | Palash Rana |
| 65 | Canning East | Asim Sapui |
| 66 | Diamond Harbour | Dipak Kumar Haldar |
| 67 | Bishnupur (SC) | Agnishwar Naskar |
| 68 | Budge Budge | Tarun Kumar Adak |
| 69 | Metiabruz | Veer Bahadur Singh |
| 70 | Bhabanipur | Suvendu Adhikari |
| 71 | Rashbehari | Swapan Dasgupta |
| 72 | Howrah North | Umesh Ray |
| 73 | Shibpur | Rudranil Ghosh |
| 74 | Uluberia South | Mangalanand Puri Maharaj |
| 75 | Amta | Amit Samant |
| 76 | Domjur | Gobinda Hazra |
| 77 | Saptagram | Swaraj Ghosh |
| 78 | Tarakeswar | Santu Pan |
| 79 | Pursurah | Biman Ghosh |
| 80 | Arambagh (SC) | Hemanta Bag |
| 81 | Goghat (SC) | Prashant Dighar |
| 82 | Khanakul | Sushanta Ghosh |
| 83 | Panskura East | Subrata Maiti |
| 84 | Panskura West | Sintu Senapati |
| 85 | Moyna | Ashok Dinda |
| 86 | Mahisadal | Subhash Panja |
| 87 | Haldia (SC) | Pradeep Kumar Bijli |
| 88 | Nandigram | Suvendu Adhikari |
| 89 | Patashpur | Tapan Maiti |
| 90 | Kanthi North | Sumita Sinha |
| 91 | Kanthi South | Arup Kumar Das |
| 92 | Ramnagar | Chandra Shekhar Mandal |
| 93 | Dantan | Ajit Kumar Jana |
| 94 | Nayagram (ST) | Amiya Kisku |
| 95 | Gopiballavpur | Rajesh Mahato |
| 96 | Jhargram | Lakshmikanta Sahu |
| 97 | Keshiary (ST) | Bhadra Hembrom |
| 98 | Kharagpur Sadar | Dilip Ghosh |
| 99 | Narayangarh | Ram Prasad Giri |
| 100 | Sabang | Amal Panda |
| 101 | Kharagpur | Tapan Bhuiya |
| 102 | Debra | Subhashish Om |
| 103 | Daspur | Tapan Dutta |
| 104 | Ghatal (SC) | Sheetal Kapat |
| 105 | Chandrakona (SC) | Sukanta Dolui |
| 106 | Salboni | Biman Mahato |
| 107 | Keshpur (SC) | Subhendu Samanta |
| 108 | Binpur (ST) | Pranata Tudu |
| 109 | Bandwan (ST) | Labsen Baskey |
| 110 | Balarampur | Jaldhar Mahato |
| 111 | Manbazar (ST) | Maina Murmu |
| 112 | Kashipur | Kamalakanta Hansda |
| 113 | Para (SC) | Nadiyar Chand Bauri |
| 114 | Raghunathpur (SC) | Mamoni Bauri |
| 115 | Saltora (SC) | Chandana Bauri |
| 116 | Chhatna | Satyanarayan Mukhopadhyay |
| 117 | Ranibandh (ST) | Khudiram Tudu |
| 118 | Raipur (ST) | Kshetra Mohan Hansda |
| 119 | Taldangra | Souvik Patra |
| 120 | Barjora | Bileshwar Singha |
| 121 | Onda | Amarnath Shakha |
| 122 | Katulpur (SC) | Lakshmikanta Majumdar |
| 123 | Indas (SC) | Nirmal Kumar Dhara |
| 124 | Sonamukhi (SC) | Dibakar Gharami |
| 125 | Raina (SC) | Subhash Patra |
| 126 | Jamalpur (SC) | Arun Halder |
| 127 | Monteswar | Saikat Panja |
| 128 | Bardhaman North (SC) | Sanjay Das |
| 129 | Bhatar | Somen Karfa |
| 130 | Ketugram | Anadi Ghosh |
| 131 | Ausgram (SC) | Kalita Majhi |
| 132 | Pandaveswar | Jitendra Kumar Tiwari |
| 133 | Durgapur East | Chandra Shekhar Banerjee |
| 134 | Durgapur West | Lakshman Chandra Ghorui |
| 135 | Jamuria | Bijan Mukherjee |
| 136 | Asansol South | Agnimitra Paul |
| 137 | Asansol North | Krishnendu Mukherjee |
| 138 | Kulti | Ajay Kumar Poddar |
| 139 | Dubrajpur (SC) | Anup Kumar Saha |
| 140 | Suri | Jagannath Chattopadhyay |
| 141 | Bolpur | Dilip Kumar Ghosh |
| 142 | Nanoor (SC) | Khokan Das |
| 143 | Mayureswar | Dudh Kumar Mandal |
| 144 | Hansan | Nikhil Banerjee |
Election Schedule
The Election Commission of India has announced that voting in West Bengal will take place in two phases:
April 23, 2026 – Phase 1
April 29, 2026 – Phase 2
The results will be declared on May 4, 2026. Elections will also be held in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, and Tamil Nadu during the same period.
Results of the Previous Election
In the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) led by Mamata Banerjee won 215 seats, forming the government.
The BJP secured 77 seats, becoming the main opposition party in the state.
With the announcement of candidates and the election schedule now in place, the 2026 West Bengal Assembly election is expected to become one of the most closely watched political contests in India.
