People reject Left’s fake narrative, TMC sets the tone for 2026 polls

Kolkata: The landslide victory in the recently-concluded bypolls where Trinamool Congress (TMC) bagged all six Assembly seats has likely set the tone for the 2026 Assembly elections in Bengal.

The fact that TMC was not only able to retain the five seats but also wrest the Madarihat seat from BJP, indicates the possibility of the ruling party creating history in the 2026 Assembly elections.

Political observers believe the TMC’s resounding victory in all the seats may set the tone for the political narratives to evolve in the next one year. The results indicated that people of Bengal voted for development and not for the “aimless campaign” of the Opposition — BJP and the Left — whose relentless narratives about the RG Kar incident failed to yield any results. According to analysts, the Opposition focused on the failures of the state and contentious issues such as RG Kar. A three-month anti-establishment campaign on the RG Kar incident led by the Left-leaning doctors’ organisations flopped. BJP and CPI(M) in the state tried to reap the benefits of the movement in the by-elections. They expected that they would be able to garner political dividends.

TMC had demanded justice for the victim and the state government took multiple measures to further enhance health infrastructure and bring transparency in this sector. Moreover, the government met all the demands made by the junior doctors’ associations.

It may be mentioned that there has been around 80.17 per cent increase in the health Budget from 2010-11 to 2022-23. There are currently around 5,125 MBBS seats in the state. The number of MBBS seats stood at 900 till 2011 when the Mamata Banerjee government came to power for the first time. The Mamata Banerjee government has established nearly 23 new medical colleges. The state has added 650 PG seats in 17 medical colleges. The state government has also set up 43 new multi-speciality hospitals across the state.

The Left Front candidates’ had to forfeit their deposits in all 6 seats while BJP candidates’ forfeited deposits in two constituencies — Sitai and Haroa. The ISF candidate in Haroa secured second highest votes after TMC. TMC’s Haroa candidate Rabiul Islam managed to defeat his nearest rival by a higher margin than that of his father late Haji Nurul Islam had secured in the last Assembly elections. Millennium Post on November 9 wrote that the Opposition parties seemed to be losing steam before the race even began. Campaign energy apparently was lacklustre with all parties struggling to capture voter attention. CPI(M) and BJP’s campaign mainly concentrated on the RG Kar issue.

The Left and Congress candidates were hardly visible in the constituencies they were contesting from. They failed to come up with any relevant agenda that could convince the people to vote for them. The once-promising Left-Congress alliance faded from sight, nearly invisible in the political arena since their coalition came undone.

TMC’s triumph in Madarihat sent ripples across political circles. The thumping victory in Sitai has added to the celebrations in the North Bengal region. Analysts are now speculating whether this signals the beginning of the end of the saffron camp’s stronghold in North Bengal. One of the main issues for the BJP’s defeat can be attributed to the party grappling with internal conflicts in the region, felt political observers.

After the results were announced, TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee thanked the people of Bengal and reiterated that the results of the by-elections would inspire her party to work for the people. Trinamool’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee also took to social media to congratulate his party colleagues for the landslide victory.

With this victory, TMC’s tally in the 294-member state Assembly has risen to 216, while BJP’s seat dropped to 69 from 77 in 2021. Trinamool retained all five seats — Haroa, Naihati, Taldangra, Midnapore and Sitai — and wrested the Madarihat seat from the BJP which had won it by 22000 votes in 2016 and 29,685 votes in 2021. TMC’s Joy Prakash Toppo defeated his nearest rival, Rahul Lohar of the BJP by 30,309 votes. TMC’s vote share surged to 54.05 per cent while the BJP’s share dropped to 34 per cent.