TMC will win 226 seats in the 2026 Assembly polls: Mamata
Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Tuesday unveiled its full list of candidates for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections, denying tickets to 74 sitting MLAs—nearly one-third of its current legislators—signalling a decisive shift towards performance-based evaluation and generational change within the party.
Trinamool chairperson Mamata Banerjee, while announcing the list, asserted that her party would win 226 seats in the upcoming election—11 more than its 2021 tally of 215. “I would like to ask the Bharatiya Janata Party—why are you so afraid? I hope better sense prevails. Do not manipulate things through agencies. Do not create a crisis here over gas, petrol, or schools. Do not bring in outsiders. Let the contest be fought in a courteous and political manner,” she said.
Flanked by party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and state president Subrata Bakshi at her Kalighat residence, Banerjee announced candidates for 291 seats, stating that the TMC would not contest three seats in Darjeeling as part of an understanding with the Anit Thapa-led Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha.
Banerjee will contest from Bhowanipore, where the BJP has fielded Suvendu Adhikari. Meanwhile, the TMC has nominated Adhikari’s former loyalist Pabitra Kar, a former Panchayat pradhan of Boyal-I Gram Panchayat in Nandigram-II block of East Midnapore, against him in Nandigram.
Among prominent candidates dropped from the 2021 list are former cricketer and Howrah Shibpur MLA Manoj Tiwary, Jorasanko MLA Vivek Gupta, Panskura Purba MLA and outgoing Fisheries Minister Biplab Roy Chowdhury, Malda leaders Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury and Sabitri Mitra, veteran Beliaghata MLA Paresh Pal, and Behala Paschim MLA Partha Chatterjee, among others.
Major changes have also been made in the Hooghly district, where well-known names such as Sudipta Roy (Serampore), Kanchan Mallick (Uttarpara), Tapan Dasgupta (Balagarh), and Ratna De Nag (Pandua) have been dropped from the list.
Of the 224 sitting MLAs, the TMC has retained 135 (60%) in their constituencies, while 15 have been shifted. Debra MLA Humayun Kabir has been moved to Domkal, while former minister Rajib Banerjee will contest from Debra. In Kolkata, Ratna Chatterjee has been shifted from Behala East to Behala West, while Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay will contest from Ballygunge instead of Khardah.
In South 24-Parganas, Saokat Molla has been moved from Canning Purba to Bhangar. Outgoing minister Birbaha Hansda will contest from Binpur instead of Jhargram, while Goutam Deb has been shifted to Siliguri from Dabgram-Phulbari.
The party has also sought to maintain social balance in its nominations, fielding 78 Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates, 17 Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates, and 47 from minority communities. A total of 52 women candidates have been nominated.
Abhishek Banerjee said that, age-wise, four candidates are below 31, 38 are in the 31–40 bracket, 88 are aged 41–50, 89 are between 51–60, 47 are in the 61–70 group, 23 are between 71–80, and two are aged 81–90.
Party sources indicated that several MLAs had sought constituency changes, but the leadership prioritised electoral strategy over individual preferences. Senior leader Jyotipriya Mallick’s request for a safer seat was declined, and he has been renominated from Habra.
The list also features several new and young faces. Debangshu Bhattacharya will contest from Chinsurah, Ritabrata Banerjee from Uluberia East, and Devdeep Purohit from Khardah. Other new entrants include Trinankur Bhattacharya (Noapara), Subhashis Chakraborty (Behala East), Subhashis Das (Maheshtala), Tanmoy Ghosh (Serampore), and Shreya Pande (Maniktala).
While the party remains confident of its core support base, local dissatisfaction against certain MLAs was seen as a potential risk, prompting a large-scale overhaul to mitigate anti-incumbency.
Meanwhile, Banerjee sharply criticised the Election Commission of India over the transfer of top bureaucrats, alleging that the poll body was acting “at the behest of the BJP”. “The EC is playing a game on behalf of the BJP. It should now start campaigning for the party,” she said.
Without naming Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, she remarked: “Why are you acting from behind the clouds?” and dared him to join the BJP campaign. She alleged that newly appointed officers were chosen to help the BJP move cash and arms ahead of the polls and “trigger riots”. “Why was there so much hurry?” she asked, adding: “The BJP wants to gobble up Bengal. They have become greedy.”
Calling the election a “fight for survival” for Bengal, Banerjee said: “And Bengal will win in this fight. The Modi government is anti-farmer and anti-women. They have insulted the people and polity of Bengal, and I urge the public to teach them a lesson.”
She also reassured party leaders and workers who were not accommodated in the list, saying they would be given roles within the organisation.
“This is a fight for Bengal’s existence. Bengal and its Maa, Mati, Manush will win. Delhi’s laddoo won’t. You have taken all our powers, but you cannot take our manpower. Remember, people cast votes,” she said.
