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West Bengal (WB) Election - Assembly & Parliamentary Constituencies


West Bengal Elections Results Live - Seat Share (0/294)


West Bengal Election Result 2021 - Vote Share (%)


West Bengal Election Result 2016 - Vote Share (%)

Chief Minister of WB
Mamata Banerjee
Office Bearers
Deputy Chief Minister(s)Vacant
Governor of WBJagdeep Dhankhar
WB Vidhan Sabha SpeakerBiman Banerjee

Major Political Parties
GovernmentAll India Trinamool Congress
OppositionBJP
OthersThe Bahujan Samaj Party, The Indian National Congress, The Rashtriya Lok Dal

Elections
WB Next ElectionMay 2026
Last electionsMay 2021
Polity
Parliamentary Consituencies
Lok Sabha42
Rajya Sabha16

State Legislature
Vidhan Sabha294

General Facts
West Bengal Area88,752 Sq.Kms.
West Bengal Population91,347,736* (2011)
Principal LanguagesBengali, Hindi

Government & Politics:

The West Bengal Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located in the B. B. D. Bagh area of Kolkata (Calcutta)-the Capital of the state. Members of the Legislative assembly are directly elected by the people. The legislative assembly comprises 294 Members of Legislative Assembly, all directly elected from single-seat constituencies. Its term is five years, unless sooner dissolved.
West Bengal has 42 parliamentary constituencies out of which 10 are reserved for a candidate belonging to scheduled caste and 2 are reserved for a candidate belonging to scheduled tribes. The state has 294 legislative assembly constituencies out of which 82 are reserved for a candidate belonging to scheduled caste. The state contributes 16 seats to the upper house, the Rajya Sabha.

Administration:

Divisional administration:

The Indian state of West Bengal is made up of 23 administrative districts that are grouped into 5 divisions. Each division consists of 3-7 districts. A divisional commissioner an officer of Indian Administrative service (IAS) is responsible for heading the administration of a division; the Divisional minister is also responsible for the collection of revenue and maintenance of law and order in his or her division.

District administration:

A district of an Indian state is an administrative geographical unit. The Indian state of West Bengal is made up of 23 administrative districts, headed by a district magistrate and collector, an IAS officer. The district magistrate is responsible for coordinating the work between various departments in the district, is responsible for law and order in the district and is also given the power of an executive magistrate.

Judiciary:

The judiciary in the West Bengal state consists of the Calcutta High Court in Calcutta. The Calcutta High Court is the oldest High Court in India. It is located in B.B.D. Bagh, Kolkata, West Bengal. It has jurisdiction over the state of West Bengal and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The High Court building's design is based on the Cloth Hall, Ypres, in Belgium.
The court has a sanctioned judge strength of 72. The structure was designed by Walter Long Bozzi Granville.
As per the Calcutta High Court (Extension of Jurisdiction) Act, 1953, the Calcutta High Court's jurisdiction was extended to cover Chandernagore (now called Chandannagar) and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as of 2 May 1950. The Calcutta High Court extended its Circuit Bench in Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and in Jalpaiguri, the divisional headquarters of the North Bengal region. On 7 February 2019, President Ram Nath Kovind finalised the opening of the other circuit bench in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal with the jurisdiction area within 5 districts- Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Cooch Behar.
The current Acting Chief Justice of the court is Justice Rajesh Bindal.

West Bengal legislative Assembly Elections 2021:

The General election to the Legislative Assembly of West Bengal for 292 constituencies of West Bengal was held between 27 March to 29 April 2021 in eight phases. Voting for the two remaining constituencies was delayed and was scheduled to be held on 16 May 2021. Election schedules were announced on 26 February 2021 and the election was held in eight phases from 27 March 2021 to 29 April 2021 and votes were counted on 2 May 2021.
The COVID-19 pandemic became an election issue. The Government of West Bengal was accused of "fudging" the count of positive cases and deaths in the regions. The AITC-led state government and BJP-led union government blamed each other for the surge in COVID-19 infections over the course of the campaign.
The national ruling party BJP's leader Narendra Modi was accused of holding rallies and flouting COVID-19 rules despite a second wave of the pandemic. Tens of thousands of people attended these rallies. Epidemiologists called it a super spreader event.
After several instances of violence, threats and murders even before the polls were announced, the Election Commission of India and Home Ministry ordered twelve companies of central forces to be deployed in West Bengal from 20 February. At least 125 more central troops were ordered to reach West Bengal on 25 February to ensure law and order in the poll-bound state. The Election commission said that forces will lay stress on area domination, especially in sensitive zones.
West Bengal has 294-member Assembly. In 2016, the Trinamool Congress had won 211 seats, more than what it had got in 2011. In this election, the BJP emerged as the second biggest political force in West Bengal. In 2019, the BJP won 18 of 42 Lok Sabha seats with nearly 40 per cent vote share.
Mamata Banerjee-led TMC has returned to power for the third term with a landslide win in West Bengal.A cliffhanger was predicted in West Bengal, but it ended up being a one-sided affair with the TMC winning handsomely with 213 seats. While the TMC managed to better its tally, the BJP which was hoping to form the government ended up with 77 seats, 73 more than its 2016 tally.
The Congress and the Left which fought the battle together put up its worst ever performance in the state and did not manage to open its account. To find out how the battle went down, do follow our West Bengal Election page.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Suvendu Adhikari has defeated West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee from the Nandigram hotseat by a margin of 1956 votes, the Election Commission has finally confirmed. Adhikari was once a close aide of Banerjee and jumped boats and joined the BJP just a few months ahead of West Bengal assembly elections.

Lok Sabha Elections 2019

In 2011, the Trinamool Congress opened a new chapter in Bengal’s political history by defeating the CPI-M-led 34-year-old Left Front government. The political equations since then have drastically changed.
Following the installation of the Narendra Modi government at the centre in 2014, political calculations in Bengal, once a Left bastion, started to change. The pace accelerated after 2016. By then Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which till then was a political outlier, came to replace the CPI-M as TMC’s primary opposition. The BJP’s vote-share shot up from 6.14% in 2009 to 17.02 in 2014.
The TMC had clinched 34 seats with 39.65 percent of votes in 2014. Though the Left front pocketed 29.71 per cent votes, it could manage just two seats. From a seat count of two in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP has increased its tally to 18 in 2019. Equally, if not more, impressive is the increase in its vote share from 16.8% in 2014 to 40.25% in 2019.
Mamata Banerjee’s TMC was Thursday facing massive headwinds in key battleground state of West Bengal where it is locked in a neck-and-neck fight with the BJP, with the state’s ruling party leading in 22 Lok Sabha seats and the challenger saffron outfit in 19. According to latest Election Commission figures, the BJP was also the main contender in 21 of the 22 seats where the Trinamool Congress was leading.
The saffron party was giving the TMC a run for its money even in terms of vote share having polled 39.81 percent of votes counted so far. The TMC has clinched 43.8 per cent. The four-party Left Front, once a formidable force in the state, has garnered a measly 7.8 percent of votes so far, and its candidates are leading in none of the state’s 42 Lok Sabha seats.

Issues of state

Major issues that West Bengal currently faces:

Poverty: West Bengal is India’s fourth most populous state in India with 91 million people, a fifth of who are poor. Although poverty reduction in the state was faster after 2005, pockets of high poverty still persist within the state. What’s more, after 2005, the state’s economic growth, which is driven mainly by services, has been weak. So much so that West Bengal grew at an even slower pace than the country’s other low income states. Furthermore, consumption inequality, which increased marginally after 2005, is close to the national average.
Employment and opportunities: West Bengal's unemployment rate increased 10.5 percentage points, rising to 17.4% in Apr 2020, according to a survey conducted by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). Over a longer time period, unemployment has moved from 4.6% in Oct 2016 to its current rate.
Corruption: Post Saradha scam in which lakhs of investors had been duped and Narada sting operation, which has purportedly shown some leaders accepting bribes, the issue of corruption has evolved as the main poll plank for the Congress-Left Front alliance, apart from "restoration of democracy" in TMC ruled Bengal.

West Bengal Legislature:

The West Bengal Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located in the B. B. D. Bagh area of Kolkata (Calcutta)-the Capital of the state. Members of the Legislative assembly are directly elected by the people. The legislative assembly comprises 294 Members of Legislative Assembly, all directly elected from single-seat constituencies. Its term is five years, unless sooner dissolved.




MekliganjMaldahBaduria
BhangarDhanekhaliRaghunathpur
MathabhangaEnglish BazarHabra
KasbaTarakeswarSaltora
Cooch Behar UttarMothabariAshokenagar
JadavpurPursurahChhatna
Cooch Behar DakshinSujapurAmdanga
Sonarpur UttarArambaghRanibandh
SitalkuchiBaisnabnagarBijpur
TollygungeGoghatRaipur
SitaiFarakkaNaihati
Behala PurbaKhanakulTaldangra
DinhataSamserganjBhatpara
Behala PaschimTamlukBankura
NatabariSutiJagatdal
MaheshtalaPanskura PurbaBarjora
TufanganjJangipurNoapara
Budge BudgePanskura PaschimOnda
KumargramRaghunathganjBarrackpur
MetiaburuzMoynaBishnupur
KalchiniSagardighiKhardaha
Kolkata PortNandakumarKatulpur
AlipurduarsLalgolaDum Dum
BhabanipurMahishadalIndas
FalakataBhagabangolaPanihati
RashbehariHaldiaSonamukhi
MadarihatRaninagarKamarhati
BallygungeNandigramKhandaghosh
DhupguriMurshidabadBaranagar
ChowringheeChandipurBurdwan Dakshin
MaynaguriNabagramDum Dum Uttar
EntallyPatashpurRaina
JalpaiguriKhargramRajarhat New Town
BeliaghataKanthi UttarJamalpur
RajganjBurwanBidhannagar
JoynagarBhagabanpurMonteswar
Dabgram PhulbariKandiRajarhat Gopalpur
ShyampukurKhejuriKalna
MalBharatpurMadhyamgram
ManiktalaKanthi DakshinMemari
NagrakataRejinagarBarasat
Kashipur BelgachhiaRamnagarBurdwan Uttar
KalimpongBeldangaDeganga
BallyEgraBhatar
DarjeelingBaharampurHaroa
Howrah UttarDantanPurbasthali Dakshin
KurseongHariharparaMinakhan
Howrah MadhyaNayagramPurbasthali Uttar
Matigara NaxalbariNaodaSandeshkhali
ShibpurGopiballavpurKatwa
SiliguriDomkalBasirhat Dakshin
Howrah DakshinJorasankoKetugram
PhansidewaJalangiBasirhat Uttar
SankrailKeshiariMangalkot
ChopraKarimpurHingalganj
PanchlaKharagpur SadarAusgram
IslampurTehattaGosaba
Uluberia PurbaNarayangarhGalsi
GoalpokharPalashiparaBasanti
Uluberia UttarSabangPandabeswar
ChakuliaKaliganjKultali
Uluberia DakshinPinglaDurgapur Purba
KarandighiNakashiparaPatharpratima
ShyampurKharagpurDurgapur Paschim
HemtabadChapraKakdwip
BagnanDebraRaniganj
KaliaganjKrishnanagar UttarSagar
AmtaDaspurJamuria
RaiganjNabadwipKulpi
UdaynarayanpurGhatalAsansol Dakshin
ItaharKrishnanagar DakshinRaidighi
JagatballavpurChandrakonaAsansol Uttar
KushmandiSantipurMandirbazar
DomjurGarbetaKulti
KumarganjRanaghat Uttar PaschimJhargram
Uttarpara SalboniBarabani
BalurghatKrishnaganjBaruipur Purba
SeramporeKeshpurDubrajpur
TapanRanaghat Uttar PurbaCanning Paschim
ChampdaniMedinipurSuri
GangarampurRanaghat DakshinCanning Purba
SingurBinpurBolpur
HarirampurChakdahaBaruipur Paschim
ChandannagarBandwanNanoor
HabibpurKalyaniMagrahat Purba
ChunchuraBalarampurLabhpur
GazoleHaringhataMagrahat Paschim
BalagarhBaghmundiSainthia
ChanchalBagdaDiamond Harbour
PanduaJoypurMayureswar
HarishchandrapurBangaon UttarFalta
SaptagramPuruliaRampurhat
MalatipurBangaon DakshinSatgachhia
ChanditalaManbazarHansan
RatuaGaighataBishnupur Sc
JangiparaKashipurNalhati
ManikchakSwarupnagarSonarpur Dakshin
HaripalParaMurarai

Quick facts for West Bengal Elections

Parliamentary Constituencies42
Assembly Constituencies 293
Ruling PartyAll India Trinamool Congress (AITC)
Opposition PartyCommunist Party of India (CPI)
Chief MinisterKm. Mamata Banerjee
GovernorKeshari Nath Tripathi
Chief Electoral OfficerSunil Kumar Gupta
CEO Address West Bengal, 21- N.S Road, Kolkata- 700001


Inside the page

Quick facts for West Bengal Elections About West Bengal Elections The Main Political Parties Assembly Constituencies in West Bengal The State Legislative Assembly List of Chief Ministers of West Bengal List of Governor of West Bengal Rajya Sabha Members From West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal Latest News And Update Party Wise Lok Sabha Election Results 2014 PCs and ACs Elections Results of WB Cabinet Ministers of West Bengal


StatePartyNumber of Seats
West BengalAll India Trinamool Congress22
West BengalBharatiya Janata Party18
West BengalIndian National Congress2




Name of State/ UTParliamentary ConstituencyWinnerPartyTotal Votes% of VotesRunner-UpPartyTotal Votes% of Votes
West BengalAlipurduarsJohn BarlaBharatiya Janata Party75080454.4Dasrath TirkeyAll India Trinamool Congress50681536.72
West BengalArambaghAparupa Poddar (Afrin Ali)All India Trinamool Congress64992944.15Tapan Kumar RayBharatiya Janata Party64878744.08
West BengalAsansolBabul SupriyoBharatiya Janata Party63337851.16Moon Moon SenAll India Trinamool Congress43574135.19
West BengalBaharampurAdhir Ranjan ChowdhuryIndian National Congress59110645.47Apurba Sarkar (David)All India Trinamool Congress51041039.26
West BengalBalurghatSukanta MajumdarBharatiya Janata Party53931745.02Arpita GhoshAll India Trinamool Congress50602442.24
West BengalBangaonShantanu ThakurBharatiya Janata Party68762248.85Mamata ThakurAll India Trinamool Congress57602840.92
West BengalBankuraDr. Subhas SarkarBharatiya Janata Party67531949.23Subrata MukherjeeAll India Trinamool Congress50098636.52
West BengalBarasatDr. Kakoli GhoshdastidarAll India Trinamool Congress64808446.47Mrinal Kanti DebnathBharatiya Janata Party53810138.58
West BengalBardhaman DurgapurS.S AhluwaliaBharatiya Janata Party59837641.76Dr. Mamtaz SanghamitaAll India Trinamool Congress59593741.59
West BengalBardhaman PurbaSunil Kumar MondalAll India Trinamool Congress64083444.52Paresh Chandra DasBharatiya Janata Party55152338.32
West BengalBarrackporeArjun SinghBharatiya Janata Party47299442.82Dinesh TrivediAll India Trinamool Congress45813741.48
West BengalBasirhatNusrat Jahan RuhiAll India Trinamool Congress78207854.56Sayantan BasuBharatiya Janata Party43170930.12
West BengalBirbhumSatabdi RoyAll India Trinamool Congress65407745.13Dudh Kumar MondalBharatiya Janata Party56515338.99
West BengalBishnupurKhan SaumitraBharatiya Janata Party65701946.25Shyamal SantraAll India Trinamool Congress57897240.75
West BengalBolpurAsit Kumar MalAll India Trinamool Congress69917147.85Das RamprasadBharatiya Janata Party59276940.57
West BengalCooch BeharNisith PramanikBharatiya Janata Party73159447.98Adhikary Paresh ChandraAll India Trinamool Congress67736344.43
West BengalDarjeelingRaju BistaBharatiya Janata Party75006759.19Amar Singh RaiAll India Trinamool Congress33662426.56
West BengalDiamond HarbourAbhishek BanerjeeAll India Trinamool Congress79112756.15Nilanjan RoyBharatiya Janata Party47053333.39
West BengalDum DumSougata RayAll India Trinamool Congress51206242.51Samik BhattacharyaBharatiya Janata Party45906038.11
West BengalGhatalAdhikari Deepak (Dev)All India Trinamool Congress71795948.22Bharati GhoshBharatiya Janata Party60998640.97
West BengalHooghlyLocket ChatterjeeBharatiya Janata Party67144846.06Dr. Ratna De (Nag)All India Trinamool Congress59808641.03
West BengalHowrahPrasun BanerjeeAll India Trinamool Congress57671147.18Rantidev SenguptaBharatiya Janata Party47301638.7
West BengalJadavpurMimi ChakrabortyAll India Trinamool Congress68847247.91Anupam HazraBharatiya Janata Party39323327.37
West BengalJalpaiguriDr. Jayanta Kumar RoyBharatiya Janata Party76014550.65Bijoy Chandra BarmanAll India Trinamool Congress57614138.39
West BengalJangipurKhalilur RahamanAll India Trinamool Congress56283843.15Mafuja KhatunBharatiya Janata Party31705624.3
West BengalJhargramKunar HembramBharatiya Janata Party62658344.56Birbaha SarenAll India Trinamool Congress61481643.72
West BengalJoynagarPratima MondalAll India Trinamool Congress76120256.13Dr. Ashok KandaryBharatiya Janata Party44442732.77
West BengalKanthiAdhikari SisirAll India Trinamool Congress71187249.98Dr. Debasish SamantaBharatiya Janata Party60020442.14
West BengalKolkata DakshinMala RoyAll India Trinamool Congress57311947.5Chandra Kumar BoseBharatiya Janata Party41792734.64
West BengalKolkata UttarBandyopadhyay SudipAll India Trinamool Congress47489149.96Rahul (Biswajit) SinhaBharatiya Janata Party34779636.59
West BengalKrishnanagarMahua MoitraAll India Trinamool Congress61487245Kalyan ChaubeyBharatiya Janata Party55165440.37
West BengalMaldaha DakshinAbu Hasem Khan Chowdhury (Dalu)Indian National Congress44427034.73Sreerupa Mitra ChaudhuryBharatiya Janata Party43604834.09
West BengalMaldaha UttarKhagen MurmuBharatiya Janata Party50952437.61Mausam NoorAll India Trinamool Congress42523631.39
West BengalMathurapurChoudhury Mohan JatuaAll India Trinamool Congress72682851.84Shyamaprasad HalderBharatiya Janata Party52285437.29
West BengalMedinipurDilip GhoshBharatiya Janata Party68543348.62Manas Ranjan BhuniaAll India Trinamool Congress59648142.31
West BengalMurshidabadAbu Taher KhanAll India Trinamool Congress60434641.57Abu Hena, S/O - Late Abdus SattarIndian National Congress37792926
West BengalPuruliaJyotirmay Singh MahatoBharatiya Janata Party66810749.3Dr. Mriganka MahatoAll India Trinamool Congress46337534.19
West BengalRaiganjDebasree ChaudhuriBharatiya Janata Party51165240.06Agarwal KanaialalAll India Trinamool Congress45107835.32
West BengalRanaghatJagannath SarkarBharatiya Janata Party78325352.78Rupali BiswasAll India Trinamool Congress54982537.05
West BengalSrerampurKalyan BanerjeeAll India Trinamool Congress63770745.5Debjit SarkarBharatiya Janata Party53917138.47
West BengalTamlukAdhikari DibyenduAll India Trinamool Congress72443350.08Sidharthashankar NaskarBharatiya Janata Party53426836.94
West BengalUluberiaSajda AhmedAll India Trinamool Congress69494553Joy BanerjeeBharatiya Janata Party47958636.58


Know More About West-Bengal Elections...


West Bengal Lok Sabha General Election 2019 Schedule

StatePhase IPhase II Phase III Phase IV Phase V Phase VIPhase VII
West Bengal11/Apr18/Apr23/Apr29/Apr06/May12/May19/May



ConstituenciesPhasePolling Date
Coochbehar, AlipurduarsIApr-11
Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, RaiganjIIApr-18
Balurghat, Maldaha Uttar, Maldaha Dakshin, Jangipur, MurshidabadIIIApr-23
Baharampur, Krishnanagar, Ranaghat, Bardhaman Purba, Bardhaman-Durgapur, Asansol, Bolpur, BirbhumIVApr-29
Bangaon, Barrackpur, Howrah, Uluberia, Sreerampur, Hooghly, ArambagVMay-06
Tamluk, Kanthi, Ghatal, Jhargram, Medinipur, Purulia, Bankura, BishnupurVIMay-12
Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jaynagar, Mathurapur, Diamond Harbour, Jadavpur, Kolkata Dakshin, Kolkata UttarVIIMay-19



West Bengal By-Election Result Live Update 2018

BREAKING NEWS :- Trinamool candidate Sajda Ahmed wins the West Bengal Uluberia Lok Sabha constituency seat.
BREAKING NEWS:- Trinamool candidate Sunil Singh wins the West Bengal Noapara Assembly constituency seat.

West Bengal By-Election Results 2017

AC NameWinnerPartyRunner-upPartyVotes Margin
Sabang GITA RANI BHUNIAAll India Trinamool CongressRITA MANDAL (JANA)Communist Party of India (Marxist)64196


There was a tough battle between Communist Party of India [CPI(M)] and the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP). TMC won twenty nine wards at Haldia, twelve at Cooper's Camp Notified Area, fourteen of sixteen wards at Nalhati, thirteen of fourteen wards at Buniyadpur, twelve of sixteen wards at Dhupguri and seventeen of eighteen wards at Panskura Municipality. TMC won four seats uncontested- two seats in Panskura municipality, one seat in Durgapur and one seat in Cooper's Camp Notified Area, after the oppositional candidates withdrew their candidature. While the BJP managed to win six wards- four wards in Dhupgiri, one ward in Panskura and one ward in Buniyadpur.

The politics for power witnessed different shades amidst the elections. Despite reports of violence and unrest in Durgapur, elections were not curtailed by the State Election Commissioner, A K Singh. The circumstances on Sunday were violation of the effective conduct of elections. Amidst violence, incidents of setting vehicles on fire and stone pelting at the police, the oppositional parties accused TMC of sabotaging West Bengal Civic Body Elections. The oppositional parties demanded cancellation and repoll of elections and accused TMC of resorting to hooliganism and vandalism.


S.NoPartySeats Won
1All India Trinamool Congress 140
2Bhartiya Janta Party6
3Forward Bloc1
4Independent Candidate1



West Bengal By-elections 2016 Results

AC/PC No.AC/PC NameWinnerPartyVotesRunner-upPartyVotes
1Coochbehar (SC)Partha Pratim RayTMC794375Hem Chandra BarmanBJP381134
30TamlukAdhikari DibyenduTMC779594Mandira Panda CPM282066
263MonteswarSaikat PanjaTMC147316Md.Osman Gani SarkarCPM20189



West Bengal Assembly Elections 2016 Summary

The West Bengal Assembly Election 2016 was held over a month in six phases from 4 April to 5 May. The overall voter turnout was a little above 80%. After a long wait, results were finally declared on 19 May. Incumbent chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her party Trinamool Congress emerged victorious with a resounding majority. Having toppled the 34-year old Left Front government in the historic 2011 Assembly elections, Mamata's party managed to replicate its success with a better performance in 2016. Unlike 2011, when the TMC contested in alliance with the Congress and won 184 seats, it fought alone against the Left-Congress combine this time and bagged 211 seats out of the total 294 assembly seats. The Congress was a distant second with just 44 seats while the Left got 33.

Political Parties and Alliances

The Trinamool Congress has decided against forging any electoral tie-up with other parties. Meanwhile, the CPI(M)-led Left Front has arrived at an ‘electoral understanding’ with the Congress though no alliance has been declared officially. The BJP is an independent third contender in the fray.


About West Bengal Assembly Elections

West Bengal, one of the India's most populous states, has held regular elections since the constitution of its first Legislative Assembly in 1952. The state has a unicameral legislature. The Vidhan Sabha or the Legislative Assembly has 295 members out of which 294 are directly elected and one member is nominated from the Anglo-Indian community. The state assembly had 240 members in the first Vidhan Sabha and 251 in the second Vidhan Sabha. The number gradually increased to 295 in the eighth assembly in 1977. The tenure of the state assembly is of five years unless it is dissolved.

West Bengal is represented in the Indian parliament by 42 directly elected members in the Lok Sabha or the lower house and 16 members in the Rajya Sabha or the upper house. The state also holds elections for the local bodies such as the Municipalities, Zila Parishads and Gram Panchayats.

The main political parties in the state are the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM), and the Indian National Congress (INC). The All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) was formed in 1998, and is now a major regional party of the state.

Though, the INC was in power in the state in the sixties, the CPM came into power in the seventies. Jyoti Basu of the CPM was the chief minister of the state from 1977 to 2000, and also became the longest serving chief minister of any state in India. Mamata Banerjee of the TMC won the Assembly Elections in 2011 and is also the current Chief Minister of the state. She also became the first non-CPM Chief Minister of the state after 34 years of CPM’s rule.

In the Lok Sabha elections in 2014, the TMS won 34 seats and the CPM won only two seats. The INC won four seats.

Assembly Constituencies in West Bengal

Some of the parliamentary constituencies are Cooch Behar, Alipurduars, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, Raiganj, Balurghat, Maldaha Uttar, Maldaha Dakshin, Jangipur, Baharampur, Murshidabad, Krishnanagar, Ranaghat, Bangaon, Barrackpore, Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Joynagar, Jadavpur, Birbhum, Purulia, Kolkata Dakshin, and Kolkata Uttar.

The state has 294 Legislative Assembly constituencies, out of which 68 are reserved for candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC) and 16 are reserved for candidates belonging to Scheduled Tribes (ST). Some of the Legislative Assembly constituencies are Gosaba (SC), Basirhat Dakshin, Pandabeswar, Nagrakata (ST), Bangaon Dakshin (SC), Canning Purba, Falta, Madhyamgram, Itahar, Sujapur, Bhatpara, Noapara, Raidighi, Ballygunge, Balarampur, Balurghat, Tollyganj, Labhpur, Asansol Uttar, Asnsol Dakshin, Chanchal, Kalimpong, Lalgola, Murshidabad, Karimpur, Jadavpur

Major Political Parties in West Bengal

The main national parties of the state are:
  • The Communist Party of India (CPI)
  • The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM)
  • The Indian National Congress
  • The Bharatiya Janata Party
The main state parties are:
  • All India Trinamool Congress (TMC)
  • All India Forward Bloc
  • Revolutionary Socialist Party
  • Gorakha National Liberation Front (registered but unrecognised)
  • Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (registered but unrecognised)
  • Democratic Socialist Party (Prabodh Chandra)
  • Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist)

    • The State Legislative Assembly

    The last Legislative Assembly elections in the state were held in 2011. The total number of candidates in fray was 1792. The total number of electors was 5,62,83,457, out of which 4,74,64,338 or 84.33% had cast their votes.

    The All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) with 184 seats formed the government. The CPI won two seats and the CPI (M) took 40 seats. The INC got 42 seats. Mamata Banerjee of the TMC formed the first non CPI (M) government in 34 years.

    The Speaker of the current Legislative Assembly is Biman Banerjee. The Deputy Speaker is Sonali Guha Bose. The Leader of the Opposition is Surjya Kanta Mishra.

    New Rules

    The Supreme Court passed a law in the year 2013 by which all ballot papers and EVMs will now include a "None of the Above" (NOTA) option so that the public has the freedom to not vote for any of the candidates without compromising their anonymity. However, NOTAs will not affect the outcome of the elections and will be considered invalid. Check the members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) of West Bengal...

    List of Chief Ministers of West Bengal

    Since the Independence of India, West Bengal has been governed by a total of eight Chief Ministers, of whom Jyoti Basu of the CPM governed for 23 years, making him the country's longest serving Chief Minister. Of all previous Chief Ministers, five belonged to the INC and two to the CPM.

    S. No.Chief MinisterFromToParty Name
    1Mamata Banerjee05/27/16IncumbentAITC
    2Mamata Banerjee05/20/1105/27/16AITC
    3Buddhadeb Bhattacharya11/06/0005/13/11CPM
    4Jyoti Basu06/21/7711/06/00CPM
    5Siddhartha Shankar Ray03/19/7206/21/77INC
    6President's rule06/28/7103/19/72 
    7Prafulla Chandra Ghosh04/02/7106/28/71INC
    8President's rule03/19/7004/02/71 
    9Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee02/25/6903/19/70BAC
    10President's rule02/20/6802/25/69 
    11Prafulla Chandra Ghosh11/02/6702/20/68Independent Progressive Democratic Alliance Front
    12Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee03/15/6711/02/67BAC
    13Prafulla Chandra Sen07/08/6203/15/67INC
    14President's rule07/01/6207/08/62 
    15Bidhan Chandra Roy01/14/4807/01/62INC
    16Prafulla Chandra Ghosh08/15/4701/14/48INC



    List of Governors of West Bengal

    Governors are the nominal heads of a state, appointed by the President of India. Since Independence, West Bengal has had 27 governors. The current governor is Keshari Nath Tripathi, who assumed office in 2014. Each governor serves a term of five years, unless circumstances require otherwise. The governor of West Bengal also acts as the Chairman of various organisations like the Victoria Memorial Hall, the Eastern Zonal Culture Centre, the West Bengal's Indian Red Cross Society and the Indian Museum. As an ex officio, the governor also assumes the post of the Chancellor of all the 14 universities of the state.

    S.No.Name of GovernorFromTo
    1Keshari Nath Tripathi Jul 24, 2014Incumbent
    2D. Y. PatilJul 3, 2014Jul 17, 2014
    3M.K. NarayananJan 24, 2010Jun 30, 2014
    4Devanand Konwar (additional charge)Dec 14, 2009Jan 24, 2010
    5Gopalkrishna GandhiDec 14, 2004Dec 14, 2009
    6Viren J. ShahDec 4, 1999Dec 14, 2004
    7Shyamal Kumar Sen (acting)May 18, 1999Dec 4, 1999
    8Akhlaqur Rahman Kidwai (additional charge)Apr 27, 1998May 18, 1999
    9K.V. Raghunatha ReddyAug 14, 1993Apr 27, 1998
    10B. Satyanarayan Reddy (additional charge)Jul 13, 1993Aug 14, 1993
    11Saiyid Nurul HasanFeb 7, 1990Jul 12, 1993
    12T. V. RajeswarMar 20, 1989Feb 7, 1990
    13Saiyid Nurul HasanAug 12, 1986Mar 20, 1989
    14Uma Shankar DikshitOct 1, 1984Aug 12, 1986
    15Satish Chandra (acting)Aug 16, 1984Oct 1, 1984
    16Anant Prasad SharmaOct 10, 1983Aug 16, 1984
    17Bhairab Dutt PandeSep 12, 1981Oct 10, 1983
    18Tribhuvana Narayana SinghNov 6, 1979Sep 12, 1981
    19Anthony Lancelot DiasAug 21, 1971Nov 6, 1979
    20Shanti Swaroop DhavanSep 19, 1969Aug 21, 1971
    21Deep Narayan Sinha (acting)Apr 1, 1969Sep 19, 1969
    22Dharma ViraJun 1, 1967Apr 1, 1969
    23Padmaja NaiduNov 3, 1956Jun 1, 1967
    24Phani Bhusan Chakraborty (acting)Aug 8, 1956Nov 3, 1956
    25Harendra Coomar MookerjeeNov 1, 1951Aug 8, 1956
    26Kailash Nath KatjuJun 21, 1948Nov 1, 1951
    27Chakravarthi RajagopalachariJun 21, 1948Aug 15, 1998



    Cabinet Ministers of West Bengal

    Name of MinisterMinister in Charge
    Mamata Banerjee, Chief MinisterPersonnel and Administrative Reforms, Hill Affairs, Home, Information and Cultural Affairs, Land and Land Reforms, Health and Family Welfare, Minorities Affairs and Madrasah Education, Micro and Small Scale Enterprises
    Sri Partha ChattertonParliamentary Affairs, School Education, Higher Education
    Sri Amit MitraExcise, Finance, Commerce & Industries, Public Enterprise, Industrial Reconstruction
    Sri Sovandeb ChatterjeePower & Non-Conventional Energy Sources
    Sri Subrata MukherjeePanchayat & Rural Development, Public Health Engineering
    Sri Sadhan PandeyConsumer Affairs
    Janab Javed Ahamed KhanDisaster Management
    Sri Sovan ChatterjeeFire & Emergency Services
    Sri Rabindra Nath BhattacharyaStatistics & Programme Implementation
    Sri Jyotipriyo MallickFood & Supplies
    Sri Sadhan PandeSelf Help Group & Self Employment
    Janab Haider Aziz SafwiCorrectional Administration
    Sri Purnendu BasuAgriculture
    Sri Bratya BasuTourism
    Shri Rachhpal SinghPlanning
    Sri Binay Krishna BarmanForest
    Sri Goutam DebNorth Bengal Development
    Sri Shankar ChakrabortyPublic Works Department
    Sri Rabiranjan ChattopadhyayScience & Technology, Biotechnology
    Sri Sudarshan Ghosh DastidarEnvironment
    Sri Ujjal BiswasTechnical Education & Traning
    Sri Shyamapada MukherjeeTextiles branch of Dept. of MSSE & Textiles
    Janab Firhad HakimMunicipal Affairs, Urban Development
    Sri Shantiram MahatoPaschimanchal Unnayan Affairs
    Dr. Soumen Kumar MahapatraWater Resources Investigation & Development
    Sri Arup RoyAgriculture Marketing
    Sri Chandranath SinhaFisheries
    Smt. Sabitri MitraRefugee Relief & Rehabilitation
    Mamata BanerjeeTransport
    Sri Aroop BiswasSports, Housing, Youth Services
    Sri Krishnendu Narayan ChowdhuryFood Processing Industries & Horticulture
    Sri Rajib BanerjeeIrrigation & Waterways
    Sri Malay GhatakLabour
    Sri Jyotirmoy KarCo-Operation
    Dr. Sukumar HansdaTribal Development
    Ministers of State
    Siddiqullah ChowdhuryMass Education Extension & Librery Services
    Sandharani TuduBackward Classes Welfare
    Smt. Chandrima Bhattacharya (Independent Charge)Law & Judicial
    Smt. Chandrima Bhattacharya (Independent Charge)Health and Family Welfare
    Sri Manturam Pakhira (Independent Charge)Sundarban Affairs
    Sri Manturam PakhiraIrrigation and Waterways
    Sri Swapan Debnath (Independent Charge)Animal Resources Development
    Sri Swapan DebnathMicro and Small Scale Enterprises and Textiles
    Sri Pundarikakshya SahaPublic Health Engineering
    Sri Becharam MannaLand and Land Reforms, Agriculture, Agriculture Marketing
    Janab Giasuddin MollaMinority Affairs and Madrasah Education
    Dr. Sashi Panja (Independent Charge)Child Development
    Dr. Sashi Panja (Independent Charge)Women Development & Social Welfare
    Sri Asish Banerjee (Independent Charge)AYUSH Branch of Health & F.W Department
    Sri Asish BanerjeeSchool Education & Higher Education Department



    Rajya Sabha Members From West Bengal

    NamePartyTermNamePartyTerm
    Ritabrata BanerjeeCPI(M)Apr 3, 2014 - Apr 2, 2020Mithun ChakrabortyAITCApr 3, 2014 - Apr 2, 2020
    Md. Nadimul HaqueAITCApr 3, 2012 - Apr 2, 2018Prof. Jogen ChowdhuryAITCApr 3, 2014 - Apr 2, 2020
    Ahmed Hassan ImranAITCApr 3, 2014 - Apr 2, 2020Sitaram YechuryCPI(M)Aug 19, 2011 - Aug 18, 2017
    Dr. Kanwar Deep SinghAITCApr 3, 2014 - Apr 2, 2020Derek O'BrienAITCAug 19, 2011 - Aug 18, 2017
    Vivek GuptaAITCApr 3, 2012 - Apr 2, 2018Debabrata BandyopadhyayAITCAug 19, 2011 - Aug 18, 2017
    Mukul RoyAITCApr 3, 2012 - Apr 2, 2018Pradip BhattacharyaINCAug 19, 2011 - Aug 18, 2017
    Sukhendu Shekhar RoyAITCAug 19, 2011 - Aug 18, 2017Kunal Kumar GhoshAITCApr 3, 2014 - Apr 2, 2020
    Tapan Kumar SenCPI(M)Apr 3, 2012 - Apr 2, 2018Dola SenAITCMar 14, 2015 - Aug 18, 2017



    Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal

    The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal is Sunil Kumar Gupta. He was appointed on 31 March 2010. A native of Uttar Pradesh, Gupta is an IAS officer of the 1987 West Bengal cadre. He did his B.Tech. from IIT Kanpur, post graduation in Civil Engineering from the State University of New York, and several other courses in development and computer applications. Read More

    West Bengal Lok Sabha Election Summary 2014

    The 16th Lok Sabha elections saw a political change in West Bengal. The state has 42 parliamentary constituencies and in the 2014 elections, 34 seats were won by the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), while the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) won only two seats. The General Elections 2014 took place in West Bengal in five different phases. After TMC won the elections, Mamata Banerjee became the Chief Minister of the state. In the 2009 General Elections too, the TMC came out as the victorious party after winning 19 seats. The opinion and exit polls had also predicted that TMC would continue to win the 2014 elections as well. During the 2009 General Elections, the TMC party won 19 seats in the state, followed by CPM which won nine seats.


    Last Updated on March 14, 2020