West Bengal 2026 results: Suvendu Adhikari leads Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur early trends
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari has taken an early lead over West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the Bhabanipur constituency, according to initial counting trends from the 2026 West Bengal Assembly election on 4 May 2026. The first hour of counting set the tone for one of the most closely watched contests in the state.
Bhabanipur: The High-Stakes Personal Battle
The Adhikari–Banerjee face-off carries significant political history. Adhikari, once a trusted confidant of Banerjee within the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), dealt her a stinging blow in the 2021 Assembly election by defeating her in Nandigram by a narrow margin of under 2,000 votes. Following that defeat, Banerjee contested a by-election from Bhabanipur to retain her Assembly membership and continue as Chief Minister. This time, Adhikari has renewed his challenge, contesting prominently and targeting both Nandigram and Bhabanipur as part of the BJP's broader offensive.
Statewide Trends as of 8:45 AM
Looking at the broader picture around 8:45 am IST, the BJP appeared to be building momentum, leading in 45 seats, while the TMC was ahead in 31. The Congress, which failed to win a single seat in 2021, showed early leads in two constituencies. These are early trends and subject to significant change as counting progresses across all 293 constituencies going to count today.
New ECI Counting Process This Year
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has introduced a revised counting methodology for this election. In previous elections, counting of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) votes began only after postal ballot counting was fully completed. This time, postal ballots are counted exclusively for the first 30 minutes — from 8 am to 8:30 am — after which postal ballots and EVM votes are tallied simultaneously.
