West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari are set to contest against each other again in the 2026 state Assembly elections, this time from the Bhabanipur constituency.

The Trinamool Congress on Tuesday announced its candidates for 291 of the state’s 294 seats, fielding Banerjee from the south Kolkata constituency, which she has represented since 2011, except for a short interval in 2021.

Banerjee, after losing Nandigram to the BJP leader in a close contest in 2021, had returned to the Assembly by winning a bypoll from Bhabanipur. Adhikari, once a close associate of Banerjee, had quit the TMC in 2020 and joined the BJP. He is the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.

The BJP leader will also contest elections from Nandigram. The TMC has filed Pabitra Kar, a former aide of Adhikari, from the seat, PTI reported. He was a former BJP leader who rejoined the TMC ahead of the polls.

In the list released on Tuesday, the ruling party also dropped around one-third of its sitting legislators, denying tickets to about 74 MLAs. It has retained around 135 MLAs and shifted 15 to different constituencies. The changes are aimed at countering anti-incumbency after three consecutive terms in power, The New Indian Express reported.

The TMC has left three seats in the Darjeeling hills to its ally, the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha, The Hindu reported.

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday released its first list of 152 candidates.

The West Bengal election will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29 in the state. The results will be announced on May 4.

In West Bengal, the Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress has been in power since 2011. The main Opposition in the state over the years has shifted from the Left parties to the BJP.

In the 2021 Assembly elections, the BJP won 77 seats in the 294-member House, while the Trinamool secured 215. The Left-Congress alliance and its partners, despite a vote share of about 10%, won just one seat.

SIR process underway

The elections were announced even as a special intensive revision of electoral rolls is underway in West Bengal, with several voters “under adjudication”.

On February 28, the Election Commission published the final electoral roll for West Bengal, indicating the exclusion of more than 61 lakh voters.

About 60 lakh “doubtful and pending” cases remain “under adjudication” based on their objections to their exclusions from the draft rolls published in December.

The names of those approved by judicial officers will be added to the rolls through a supplementary list.

On February 20, the Supreme Court ordered that judicial officers of the rank of district judge or additional district judge be appointed to help complete the special intensive revision of the electoral rolls in the state amid a tussle between the Trinamool Congress government and the Election Commission.

Four days later, the court allowed judges from Odisha and Jharkhand to also be deployed to decide on the claims and objections raised during the process.

Also read: As polls knock, why is Bengal’s SIR in a state of chaos with no end in sight?