West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026: Voting in two phases; Check full schedule and results date

The Election Commission of India has announced the schedule for the West Bengal Assembly elections 2026, with voting to be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29 across 294 constituencies.

Post Published By: Sona Saini

Updated : 15 March 2026, 5:18 PM IST

ECI Announces West Bengal Poll Schedule; Counting on May 4

New Delhi: At a press conference held in New Delhi, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar announced the dates for the 2026 West Bengal Assembly Elections. According to the Election Commission of India, voting for the state's 294 assembly seats will be held in two phases. With this announcement, the model code of conduct has come into effect immediately, and political parties have intensified their election preparations.

Voting to be held in two phases

According to the Election Commission, voting in West Bengal will be held in two phases.

First phase: April 23 – Voting for 152 assembly seats

Second phase: April 29 – Voting for 142 assembly seats

Counting of votes for both phases will be done on May 4, while the entire election process is expected to be completed by May 6.

294-Seat Assembly

The West Bengal Assembly has a total of 294 seats, and MLAs are elected for a five-year term. Each seat represents one member. State politics has long been highly competitive, and elections here always generate national attention.

TMC Wins Big Victory in the 2021 Elections

In the last 2021 Assembly elections, the ruling All India Trinamool Congress won a landslide victory and returned to power for the third consecutive term. The party easily surpassed the majority mark of 148 by winning 213 seats in the 294-member Assembly.

The Bharatiya Janata Party emerged as the main opposition party and established a strong presence in state politics by winning 77 seats.

Nandigram Seat Was the Most High-Stakeout Seat

The most high-profile contest in the 2021 elections was the Nandigram seat. Here, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari defeated Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. However, Mamata Banerjee later returned to the Assembly by winning the Bhabanipur seat in the by-election.

2016 Election Results

The Trinamool Congress also won a landslide victory in the 2016 Assembly elections. At that time, the party won 211 seats. The Indian National Congress won 44 seats, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) won 26 seats.

Mamata Banerjee has been in power in West Bengal since 2011. Before her, the state was ruled by left-wing parties for more than three decades.