Political Tide Shifts in West Bengal: BJP Leads as TMC Faces Potential Defeat
As of 10:00 AM on Monday, May 4, 2026, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has surged ahead, crossing the majority mark in initial counting and leaving the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) trailing. According to reports from NDTV, the BJP is currently leading in 158 seats, while the TMC holds leads in 119 constituencies. The Congress party, which faced a major setback in 2021, is leading in only 4 seats so far.
In the high-profile Bhabanipur constituency in Kolkata, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee maintains a slight lead over her former aide and current BJP heavyweight Suvendu Adhikari. However, in Adhikari’s own stronghold of Nandigram, the BJP candidate has demonstrated early dominance. It is worth noting that in the 2021 elections, Suvendu Adhikari secured a landmark victory against Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram, and he has maintained an aggressive campaign against her throughout this election cycle.
While Bhabanipur has historically been a TMC fortress since 2011, the overall state-wide trends are causing serious concern for the ruling party. The 2026 elections were conducted in two phases on April 23 and April 29. The campaign period was marked by intense rhetoric, fierce verbal duels between the two major parties, and mutual allegations of violence and irregularities. After a landslide victory in 2021 where the TMC won 215 out of 294 seats to secure a third consecutive term, these early results suggest a formidable challenge to Mamata Banerjee’s leadership and the TMC’s hold on the state.
