A seismic political shift in Bengal brought the Mamata Banerjee era in the state to an end on Monday, robbing the three-time chief minister of a historic fourth term. Had Trinamool won, she would have become India's longest-serving woman chief minister. Instead, the defeat takes down a pillar of the INDIA bloc.
Election Results 2026
Vijay's TVK party emerged as a formidable force in Tamil Nadu. Meanwhile, in West Bengal, Mamata lagged behind Suvendu Adhikari after the second round in Bhabanipur. TVK pushed DMK and AIADMK to the margins, while BJP ousted Mamata in Bengal and retained Assam.
The stunning defeat was not just for her party but for Mamata herself, who lost Bhabanipur to Suvendu Adhikari. This puts her back in opposition in West Bengal, a position where she cut her teeth as a firebrand, streetfighter politician. However, age is no longer on the side of the 71-year-old.
No stranger to tough challenges, Mamata, who orchestrated the Left Front's downfall in 2011 after 34 years in power, riding on land agitations at Singur and Nandigram, faced anti-incumbency from her own 15-year reign this time. She had no answers.
Mamata's Fight Against Election Commission
She went all-out against the Election Commission's SIR of electoral rolls and the controversial 'logical discrepancy' criteria used in Bengal. In the Supreme Court, her appearance as the 'people's petitioner' showed she had not lost her fight-to-the-end instinct, whether the arena was a Kolkata street or a courtroom in Delhi.
But SIR, as Monday's result showed, was not the tool to neutralize anti-incumbency for Trinamool. The drubbing in the assembly polls came as a shocker to Mamata and Trinamool. "I do not accept this loss. I will be back," she said.
BJP's Mission Mode in Bengal
It had become clear since the Lok Sabha election in 2019 that BJP was on mission mode in Bengal, willing to pull out all the stops to build on its record 38% vote share. In 2021, she had faced a stiff saffron challenge led by Modi, but Mamata prevailed with her 'Khela hobe' campaign, welfare pitch, and appeal to protect Bengali culture from outsiders.
This time, they did not work despite the introduction of Yuva Sathi, a monthly assistance of Rs 1,500 for unemployed Class X passouts aged 21 to 40, and increased allocation for the women's scheme Lakshmir Bhandar to Rs 1,500 per month from Rs 1,200. More than 81 lakh voters, over 10% of Bengal's electorate, queued up to enroll in Yuva Sathi. But when they queued up at polling booths, the scheme was not enough persuasion to vote TMC.
Factors Behind Mamata's Defeat
Several factors weighed Mamata down, including allegations of corruption against party colleagues and the teacher recruitment scam. In 2021, Mamata had appealed to voters, "Every vote for Trinamool is a vote for Mamata Banerjee; forget the candidate." It resonated then. She made the same appeal this time, but it did not have the same effect.
TMC retaining more than 40% of the vote share despite BJP sailing to 207 seats shows the message still had stickiness but not enough. Losing Bengal also weakens Mamata's position in the opposition alliance against BJP despite TMC's strong presence in Lok Sabha, with Congress once again likely to call the shots. Mamata will, however, take heart from the vote share. Didi is down, but not totally out.
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