2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election: Difference between revisions
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Legislative Assembly elections for 294 seats of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly are scheduled to be held between 27 March to 29 April 2021 in 8 phases.[1]
Background
Outlined in Article 168 of the Constitution of India, the West Bengal Legislative Assembly is the only house of the unicameral legislature of West Bengal and not a permanent body and subject to dissolution.[2] The tenure of the Legislative Assembly is five years from the date appointed for its first sitting unless dissolved sooner. Members of the Legislative Assembly are directly elected by the people.
In the previous elections in 2016, the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) retained its majority in the Legislative Assembly with 211 seats. The Indian National Congress won 44 seats and the Left Front won 33 seats fighting within an alliance. While the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha each managed to win only 3 of the 294 seats.[3] However, in the 2019 general elections TMC won 22 and the BJP won 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal.[4] Bagging 40 percent of the vote share, an increase from the previous time and in by-elections from 2016 to 2021, BJP had also increased their seats in the legislative assembly by 15 as of 2020.[5]
Issues
In 2019, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union Government passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) in the Indian Parliament, promising citizenship to Hindu immigrants from Bangladesh and hoping to provide them with habilitation.[5][6] The BJP's Bengali booklet released in January 2020 claimed that the National Register of Citizens will be implemented to identify the undocumented migrants, but Hindus, Sikhs, and other non-Muslims will be "shielded" by the Citizenship Amendment Act "They have their homelands secured".[7][8]
The COVID-19 pandemic also became an election issue.[9][10] The Government of West Bengal was accused of "fudging" with the number of Coronavirus disease 2019 positive patients and death tolls by the opposition.[11]
In May 2020, Cyclone Amphan hit the state a year before elections.[12][9] After the passing away of the cyclone, widespread allegations of mismanagement[13] and relief scam were seen.[14][15] Protest broke out in various district of the state over these allegations.[16][17] The opposition made it an election issue ahead of the Assembly polls.[18][19] Rebellion and dissatisfaction of many Trinamool leaders are also likely to impact the elections.[20]
Voter statistics
According to the ECI, 8,32,94,960 people were eligible to vote in upcoming assembly elections in West Bengal with 2% increase comparing to the previous final electoral roll.[21]
| Total electors | Male voters | Female voters | Third Gender Voters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8,32,94,960 | 3,63,7,307 | 3,59,26,064 | 1,590 |
District wise Constituencies
| District wise map of West Bengal | District | Total Seats |
|---|---|---|
|
Cooch Behar | 9 |
| Alipurduar | 5 | |
| Jalpaiguri | 8 | |
| Bankura | 12 | |
| Paschim Bardhaman | 10 | |
| Purba Bardhaman | 16 | |
| Birbhum | 11 | |
| Darjeeling | 5 | |
| Uttar Dinajpur | 10 | |
| Dakshin Dinajpur | 6 | |
| Hooghly | 18 | |
| Howrah | 16 | |
| Jhargram | 4 | |
| Kolkata | 11 | |
| Kalimpong | 1 | |
| Malda | 12 | |
| Paschim Medinipur | 15 | |
| Purba Medinipur | 16 | |
| Murshidabad | 22 | |
| Nadia | 17 | |
| North 24 Parganas | 33 | |
| South 24 Parganas | 31 | |
| Purulia | 9 |
Schedule
Election schedule announced on 26 February 2021. Election to be held in 8 phases from 27 March 2021 to 29 April 2021 and results will be counted on 2 May 2021.[22][23]
| Poll Event | Phase | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | |
| Map of constituencies and their phases |  | |||||||
| No. of Constituencies | 30 | 30 | 31 | 44 | 45 | 43 | 36 | 35 |
| Date of Issue of Notification | 2 March 2021 | 5 March 2021 | 12 March 2021 | 16 March 2021 | 23 March 2021 | 26 March 2021 | 31 March 2021 | 31 March 2021 |
| Last Date for filling nomination | 9 March 2021 | 12 March 2021 | 19 March 2021 | 23 March 2021 | 30 March 2021 | 3 April 2021 | 7 April 2021 | 7 April 2021 |
| Scrutiny of nomination | 10 March 2021 | 15 March 2021 | 20 March 2021 | 24 March 2021 | 31 March 2021 | 5 April 2021 | 8 April 2021 | 8 April 2021 |
| Last Date for Withdrawal of nomination | 12 March 2021 | 17 March 2021 | 22 March 2021 | 26 March 2021 | 3 April 2021 | 7 April 2021 | 12 April 2021 | 12 April 2021 |
| Date of Poll | 27 March 2021 | 1 April 2021 | 6 April 2021 | 10 April 2021 | 17 April 2021 | 22 April 2021 | 26 April 2021 | 29 April 2021 |
| Date of Counting of Votes | 2 May 2021 | |||||||
| Source: Election Commission of India | ||||||||
Parties and alliances
Trinamool Congress and allies
Both factions of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha expressed support to Trinamool Congress for the assembly election.[24]
| No. | Party | Flag | Symbol | Photo | Leader | Seats contested |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! style="text-align:center; background:Template:All India Trinamool Congress/meta/color;color:white"|1. | All India Trinamool Congress | 
|
 |
|
Mamata Banerjee | TBD |
| ! style="text-align:center; background:Template:Gorkha Janmukti Morcha/meta/color;color:white"|2. | Gorkha Janmukti Morcha[25] | Bimal Gurung | TBD |
On January 28, 2021 Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury announced that seat-sharing talks between the Congress and Left Front had concluded for 193 seats and that the remaining 101 seats would be decided at a later point.[26][27] Out of the 193 seats agreed upon by January 28, 92 went to Congress and 101 to the Left Front.[26] These 193 seats included agreements over all the 77 seats the Congress and Left Front had won in the 2016 election.[26]
Five hill-based parties pledged support to BJP ahead of the assembly election; the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), the Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists, Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League (ABGL), Gorkhaland Rajya Nirman Morcha and SUMETI Mukti Morcha.[24]
| No. | Party | Flag | Symbol | Photo | Leader | Seats contested |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! style="text-align:center; background:Template:Bharatiya Janata Party/meta/color;color:white"|1. | Bharatiya Janata Party | File:B.J.P. flag.jpg |  |
|
Dilip Ghosh | TBD |
| style="text-align:center ; background-color:Template:Gorkha National Liberation Front/meta/color; color:white" |2. | Gorkha National Liberation Front[32] | 
|
Mann Ghising | TBD | ||
| style="text-align:center; background:Template:Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists/meta/color;color:white" |3. | Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists[33] | Ratna Bahadur Rai | TBD | |||
| style="text-align:center; background:Template:Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League/meta/color;color:white" |4. | Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League | Mina Subba | TBD | |||
| style="text-align:center; background:Template:Janata Party/meta/color;color:white" |5. | Gorkhaland Rajya Nirman Morcha | TBD | ||||
| style="text-align:center; background:Template:Janata Dal (United)/meta/color;color:white" |6. | SUMETI Mukti Morcha | TBD |
Others
| No. | Party | Flag | Symbol | Photo | Leader | Seats contested |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| style="text-align:center; background:Template:Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist)/meta/color;color:white" |1. | Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) | 
|
Provash Ghosh | TBD | ||
| ! style="text-align:center; background:Template:Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation/meta/color;color:white" |2. | Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist)[34] | File:Logo of CPIML Liberation.jpg | Dipankar Bhattacharya | 12[35] | ||
| style="text-align:center; background:Template:All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen/meta/color;color:white"|3. | All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen[36] | File:All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen logo.png | 
|
Zameerul Hasan | TBD | |
| style="text-align:center; background:Template:Jharkhand Mukti Morcha/meta/color;color:white"|4. | Jharkhand Mukti Morcha | 40[37] | ||||
| style="text-align:center; background:Template:Shiv Sena/meta/color;color:white"|5. | Shiv Sena | 
|
100[38] |
Candidates
Election
These elections will be conducted amid the COVID-19 pandemic so the necessary guidelines will be issued by the Election Commission of India.[39]
Security preparations
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 were be deployed in West Bengal from February 20. At least 125 more central troops were ordered to reach West Bengal on February 25 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.[40]
60 companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), 30 companies of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), 25 companies of the Border Security Force (BSF) and five companies each of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).[41]
Polls and Surveys
Opinion Poll
| Date published | Polling agency | style="background:Template:All India Trinamool Congress/meta/color" | | style="background:Template:Bharatiya Janata Party/meta/color" | | style="text-align:center; background:Template:Mahajot/meta/color " | | style="background:gray;Template:Other/meta/color " | | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AITC+ | BJP+ | LF + INC | Others | |||
| 27 February 2021 | ABP News - C Voter[42][43] |
148-164 |
92-108 | 31-39 | 1-5 |
40-72 |
| 43% | 38% | 13% | 6% | 5% | ||
| 15 February 2021 | ABP News - CNX[44][45] |
146-156 |
113-121 | 20-28 | 1-3 |
25-43 |
| 41% | 37% | 17% | 5% | 4% | ||
| 18 January 2021 | ABP News - CVoter[46] |
158 |
102 | 30 | 4 | 56 |
| 43% | 37.5% | 12% | 7.5% | 5.5% | ||
| 16 June 2020 | ABP Group - CNX[47] |
155-163 |
97-105 | 22-30 | 6-10 | 50-66 |
| 38.50% | 32.74% | 13.80% | 5.43% | 5.76% |
Result
Party and Alliance Wise Results
| colspan="2" style="background:Template:All India Trinamool Congress/meta/color ; color:white;"|AITC+ | style="background:Template:All India Trinamool Congress/meta/color ; color:white;"|SEATS | colspan="2" style="background:Template:Mahajot/meta/color; color:white;"|LF+INC | style="background:Template:Mahajot/meta/color; color:white;"|SEATS | colspan="2" style="background:Template:Bharatiya Janata Party/meta/color ; color:white;"|NDA | style="background:Template:Bharatiya Janata Party/meta/color ; color:white;"|SEATS | Others | SEATS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AITC | width="3px" style="background-color: Template:All India Trinamool Congress/meta/color"| | TBD | INC | width="3px" style="background-color: Template:Indian National Congress/meta/color"| | TBD | BJP | TBD | IND | TBD | ||
| GJM | width="3px" style="background-color: Template:Gorkha Janmukti Morcha/meta/color"| | TBD | CPI(M) | TBD | GNLF | width="3px" style="background-color: Template:Gorkha National Liberation Front/meta/color"| | TBD | SUCI(C) | width="3px" style="background-color: Template:Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist)/meta/color"| | TBD | |
| CPI | TBD | CPRM | width="3px" style="background-color: Template:Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists/meta/color"| | TBD | CPI(ML)L | TBD | |||||
| RSP | width="3px" style="background-color: Template:Revolutionary Socialist Party (India)/meta/color"| | TBD | ABGL | width="3px" style="background-color: Template:Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League/meta/color"| | TBD | AIMIM | width="3px" style="background-color: Template:All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen/meta/color"| | TBD | |||
| AIFB | width="3px" style="background-color: Template:All India Forward Bloc/meta/color"| | TBD | GRNM | width="3px" style="background-color: Template:Janata Party/meta/color"| | TBD | SHS | width="3px" style="background-color: Template:Shiv Sena/meta/color"| | TBD | |||
| ISF | TBD | SMM | width="3px" style="background-color: Template:Janata Dal (United)/meta/color"| | TBD | JMM | width="3px" style="background-color: Template:Jharkhand Mukti Morcha/meta/color"| | TBD | ||||
| NCP | width="3px" style="background-color: Template:Nationalist Congress Party/meta/color"| | TBD | |||||||||
| RJD | width="3px" style="background-color: Template:Rashtriya Janata Dal/meta/color"| | TBD | |||||||||
| colspan="2" style="background:Template:Gorkha Janmukti Morcha/meta/color;" |Total | style="background:Template:All India Trinamool Congress/meta/color ; color:white;"|TBD | Total | style="background:Template:Mahajot/meta/color; color:white;"|TBD | Total | TBD | Total | TBD | ||||
| colspan="2" style="background:Template:Gorkha Janmukti Morcha/meta/color;" |Change | style="background:Template:All India Trinamool Congress/meta/color ; color:white;"|TBD | Change | style="background:Template:Mahajot/meta/color ; color:white;"|TBD | Change | TBD | Change | TBD | ||||
Party wise Detailed Results
District wise Results
| District | Total Seats | AITC | BJP | Mahajot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooch Behar | 9 | |||
| Alipurduar | 5 | |||
| Jalpaiguri | 8 | |||
| Bankura | 12 | |||
| Paschim Bardhaman | 10 | |||
| Purba Bardhaman | 16 | |||
| Birbhum | 11 | |||
| Darjeeling | 5 | |||
| Uttar Dinajpur | 10 | |||
| Dakshin Dinajpur | 6 | |||
| Hooghly | 18 | |||
| Howrah | 16 | |||
| Jhargram | 4 | |||
| Kolkata | 11 | |||
| Kalimpong | 1 | |||
| Malda | 12 | |||
| Paschim Medinipur | 15 | |||
| Purba Medinipur | 16 | |||
| Murshidabad | 22 | |||
| Nadia | 17 | |||
| North 24 Parganas | 33 | |||
| South 24 Parganas | 31 | |||
| Purulia | 9 |
Constituency Wise Results
See also
- 2016–21 West Bengal Legislative Assembly by-elections
- 2021 elections in India
- 2019 Indian general election in West Bengal
- 2018 West Bengal Panchayat elections
References
Notes
- ^ a b c d includes MLAs defected from/to other parties and elected in by-elections from 2016 to present.
Citations
- ^ "BJP preparing blueprint for 2021 West Bengal polls". Economic Times. 9 June 2019.
- ^ "Article 168 in The Constitution Of India 1949". Indiankanoon.org. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
- ^ "West Bangal General Legislative Election 2016". Election Commission of India.
- ^ "Election results 2019 West Bengal: TMC wins 22 seats, faces stiff battle from BJP". India Today.
- ^ a b Romita Datta, Why no one will douse the CAA fire in Bengal, India Today, 10 January 2020.
- ^ Kaushik Deka, Who is (not) a citizen?, India Today, 10 January 2020.
- ^ Amended citizenship law will shield Hindus when NRC will be rolled out, says BJP's Bengali booklet, Scroll, 7 January 2020.
- ^ NRC next, says BJP's Bengali booklet on CAA, The Indian Express, 7 January 2020.
- ^ a b "A tale of two disasters: Amphan and COVID-19 have dented Mamata's political dominance in West Bengal". www.timesnownews.com. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
- ^ Tewari, Ruhi (5 May 2020). "Mamata's Covid politics is benefiting Modi and West Bengal's election isn't that far". ThePrint. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
- ^ "How can Mamata Banerjee's TMC recover lost political ground after 'fudging' Covid numbers?". ThePrint. 6 May 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
- ^ Bose, Pratim Ranjan. "How Cyclone Amphan adds a new twist to the West Bengal elections". @businessline. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
- ^ "Political storm in TMC over post cyclone mismanagement". The Sunday Guardian Live. 30 May 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
- ^ Chattopadhyay, Suhrid Sankar. "Amphan: Relief as disaster". Frontline. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
- ^ Das, Madhuparna (30 June 2020). "Mamata govt now in trouble over Amphan relief 'scam', after cut-money and PDS corruption". ThePrint. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
- ^ "Cyclone 'Amphan': Protests across Kolkata as power, water crisis continues - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
- ^ "Protests over Cyclone Amphan relief distribution continue in many WB areas". www.outlookindia.com. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
- ^ "Cyclone Amphan a catalyst for BJP's new poll strategy in Bengal". Hindustan Times. 13 June 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
- ^ Chattopadhyay, Suhrid Sankar. "Bengal opposition leaders meet Central team, raise concerns over cyclone relief distribution". Frontline. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
- ^ Dutta, Prabhash K. (20 November 2020). "Why BJP is not the only challenge Mamata Banerjee faces in Bengal". India Today. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
- ^ "Election Commission releases final electoral roll ahead of West Bengal Assembly elections 2021". Indian Express. 20 January 2021.
- ^ "Assembly Elections 2021 dates Live: EC announces poll dates for Bengal, Kerala, TN and Assam; counting on May 2". The Indian Express. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
- ^ "West Bengal election dates 2021: Eight-phase polling to start on March 27, results on May 2". The Times of India. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
- ^ a b The Telegraph. Hill Assembly seats set for bipolar contest
- ^ "Major blow to BJP in West Bengal, Bimal Gurung's Gorkha Janmukti Morcha pulls out of NDA alliance". Zee News. 21 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- ^ a b c Outlook. Cong, LF finalise seat sharing in 193 seats in WB, decision on rest 101 later
- ^ News18. West Bengal Elections: Congress to Contest on 92 Seats, Left Parties Get 101 After Round 2 of Talks
- ^ a b c d Tribune. Congress and Left Front reach agreement on more West Bengal Assembly seats
- ^ "Abbas Siddiqui's Indian Secular Front Stitches Alliance with Congress-Left". news18.com. 5 February 2021.
- ^ ""Want To Be Kingmaker":Abbas Siddiqui Announces Party For Bengal Polls". ndtv.com. 21 January 2021.
- ^ "ISF, NCP, RJD to be part of Congress-Left alliance for Bengal polls: Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury". timesofindia.com. 16 February 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
- ^ "BJP-র হাত ধরল GNLF". eisamay.indiatimes.com. 1 February 2021.
- ^ "BJP embarks on hill drive". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
- ^ "CPI (ML)'s Dipankar Bhattacharya Says Party Will Contest 12 Seats Alone". news18.com. 29 January 2021.
- ^ "পশ্চিমবঙ্গে বিজেপি-র বিরুদ্ধে লড়াই করবে লিবারেশন, ঘোষণা হল ১২ আসনের তালিকা". anandabazar.com. 28 January 2021.
- ^ Pranab Mondal (25 January 2020). "West Bengal politics: Entry of AIMIM may queer Didi's pitch". newindianexpress.com. Kolkata: New Indian Express. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
- ^ "Ananda Sakal III: রাজ্যের অন্তত ৪০টি আদিবাসী অধ্যুষিত বিধানসভা কেন্দ্রে প্রার্থী দেবে ঝাড়খণ্ড মুক্তি মোর্চা, লক্ষ্য আদিবাসী ভোটব্যাঙ্ক". bengali.abplive.com. 24 December 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- ^ "West Bengal elections: As Shiv Sena plans to contest 100 seats, here's how party fared in previous polls". www.timesofnews.com. 5 January 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
- ^ "Explained: What the EC has said on voting during the Covid-19 pandemic". The Indian Express. 14 September 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
- ^ https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/politics/west-bengal-election-2021-12-companies-of-central-forces-reach-bengal-as-poll-preparation-begins-6548611.html
- ^ https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/west-bengal-assembly-elections-central-forces-deployment-7197073/
- ^ "C-Voter Opinion poll বিধানসভা ভোটে কোন দল ক'টি আসন পেতে পারে? কী বলছে C Voter জনমত সমীক্ষা". ABP Ananda. 27 February 2021.
- ^ [hhttps://bengali.abplive.com/news/states/abp-ananda-c-voter-opinion-poll-2021-results-tmc-bjp-congress-left-front-party-poll-percentage-ahead-of-elections-803635 "AC-Voter Opinion poll কোন দল পেতে পারে কত শতাংশ ভোট? কী বলছে C Voter জনমত সমীক্ষা"]. ABP Ananda. 27 February 2021.
- ^ "CNX Opinion Poll: আসন্ন নির্বাচনে কোন দল পেতে পারে কটা আসন?". ABP Ananda. 15 February 2021.
- ^ "ABP News Opinion Poll: TMC Or BJP? Know Where Voters Are Leaning Towards In West Bengal Elections". ABP Live. 15 February 2021.
- ^ "ABP-CVoter Election 2021 Opinion Poll LIVE: People In Bengal Satisfied With Mamata, TMC To Regain Power". ABP Live. 18 January 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
- ^ "এই মুহূর্তে রাজ্যে ভোট হলে ক্ষমতায় ফিরতে পারে তৃণমূলই, ইঙ্গিত জনমত সমীক্ষায়". anandabazar.com. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
Further reading
- Halder, Deep (2021). Bengal 2021: An Election Diary. India: HarperCollins. ISBN 9789354224171.