Bhabanipur election results highlights: Mamata loses Bhabanipur bastion to Suvendu by a margin of 15,000 votes

BJP Bhabanipur candidate Suvendu Adhikari arrives at the counting centre at Sakhawat Memorial Government Girls School during counting of West Bengal Assembly elections on Monday. (ANI)

Bhabanipur election results highlights: Suvendu Adhikari has won the Bhabanipur seat against Mamata Banerjee. Adhikari has won by a margin of 15,000 votes. The TMC supremo had built a commanding early lead, but it steadily narrowed as counting progressed. By the end of the seventh round, Banerjee was ahead by over 17,000 votes, polling 32,822 against Adhikari’s 15,451. However, the gap began shrinking thereafter.

Mamata had sent message to polling agents

Mamata has alleged that the BJP and the Election Commission were “stealing” the election from her party.

Earlier, Banerjee also sent a message to her polling agents, urging them not to leave counting centres and to remain focused on the ongoing trends.

"Do not lose hearts, we will win after sundown," she said.

"We are ahead by more than 100 seats, which is not being reported. Everything is being reported wrong. The Election Commission is working entirely as per its own will, and central forces are also with them. The police are also working with the central forces," Mamata Banerjee alleged.

She also alleged that counting has been halted at many places as a tactic to benefit the BJP.

"Counting agents and candidates should not leave the counting centre. This is the BJP's plan, I have been saying this since yesterday that they will be shown ahead first. They have stopped counting at many places. Such machines have been found in Kalyani, where there is no match; atrocities are being committed against TMC from all sides through central forces," she said.

Suvendu vs Mamata in Bhabanipur intensifies

After completion of 13 rounds, Suvendu is closing the gap slowly with difference now reduced to less than 6,000 votes. Currently, Mamata is still in lead with 44,729 votes and she is ahead of Suvendu (37545) by 7184 votes.

After end of 10 rounds, Mamata was ahead by over 12,000 votes, according to Election Commission of India data.

After the completion of the sixth round of counting, Mamata was leading by over 19000 votes, as per ECI website.

Suvendu, meanwhile, appeared confident of not only winning both Nandigram and Bhabanipur, but also of the BJP forming the government in West Bengal.

“BJP will form the government. People have given the party a clear mandate,” Adhikari told reporters, according to PTI.

State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said he was confident of a landslide victory for the party.

“The people of the state have already rejected the Trinamool Congress government, and in a few hours, the overwhelming majority of seats will confirm that. In the contest between Mamata Banerjee and the people, the people have rejected Mamata Banerjee,” Bhattacharya said outside a counting centre in Kolkata.

Close contest between Mamata and Suvendu in Bhabanipur in early hours

A close contest is going on between BJP's Suvendu Adhikari and TMC's Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur. In the early trends of counting day, Suvendu started the day with a lead but soon Mamata went past him. However, after the counting of 2 rounds completed, Suvendu regained the lead. He is currently leading with over 1558 seats.

The Election Commission has not yet released official figures. Officials said the counting of postal ballots is currently in progress, with EVM counting to follow.

The counting for the Bhabanipur constituency in West Bengal began at 8 am IST. Here, Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and Leader of Opposition in the assembly Suvendu Adhikari are up agaist each other.

Mamata urged party workers to remain vigilant, alleging power outages and suspicious activity near strong rooms ahead of vote counting on Sunday night.

“Stay alert. Keep watch. Remain awake and file complaints if needed. I am receiving reports from several places that load-shedding is being deliberately imposed. From Hooghly’s Serampore and Nadia’s Krishnanagar to Burdwan’s Ausgram and Kolkata’s Kshudiram Anushilan Kendra, there have been incidents where power cuts are being carried out in phases, CCTV cameras are being switched off, and vehicles are moving in and out of strong rooms,” she said.

A verbal argument also broke out between the counting agents of TMC and BJP on Monday morning, outside the counter centre at Sakhawat Memorial School in Bhabanipur assembly constituency before the counting starts.

Track West Bengal election results 2026 LIVE

All eyes on Bhabanipur

All eyes will be on Bhabanipur on the decisive day of the West Bengal election 2026 as counting of votes begins later today. The constituency has emerged as one of the key battlegrounds this election, with both the sitting chief minister and a potential challenger contesting against each other from this seat.

Bhabanipur has been a stronghold of the TMC since 2011, with Mamata Banerjee representing the seat multiple times as MLA. Mamata won from here twice, in 2011 and then in 2016. But in 2016, it was Sovandeb Chattopadhyay who fought on a TMC ticket and won from here as Mamata had shifted her seat to Nandigram.

But in 2021, Mamata received one of the biggest shocks of her political career when she was defeated by BJP's Suvendu Adhikari from Nandigram.

Following the defeat, Mamata needed to secure a seat to continue as chief minister. To make that happen, the sitting TMC MLA from Bhabanipur vacated the seat, paving the way for a by-election. Banerjee contested and won the bypoll, thereby becoming a member of the West Bengal Vidhan Sabha while already holding the CM’s post.

Bhabanipur is the most closely watched seat this election, not only because it sees a sitting CM fighting from there, but also because BJP has pitched Adhikari against her again after he defeated her in 2021 in Nandigram. Adhikari is fighting from two seats, Nandigram and Bhabanipur.

Drama in Bhabanipur, day after polling

A day after the second round of polling, Mamata spent hours at an EVM strongroom in her Bhabanipur constituency, raising concerns over possible malpractice. But Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal said there was no scope for any wrongdoing at counting centres.

Following late-night tensions outside two counting centres in Kolkata on Thursday, police imposed prohibitory orders on gatherings near all seven strongrooms in the city.

Agarwal dismissed the allegations as “baseless”, stating that strongrooms are under round-the-clock CCTV surveillance and live-streamed footage is accessible from outside. “There is no scope for wrongdoing given the security arrangements. Allegations must be backed by reason and evidence,” he said.

High drama unfolded at two Kolkata centres after TMC leaders flagged alleged lapses in transparency around strongrooms storing sealed EVMs from the Assembly polls held on April 29. Banerjee visited the Sakhawat Memorial School counting centre and stayed for nearly four hours, leaving after midnight while warning against any attempt to tamper with the counting process and calling for greater transparency.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari accused Banerjee of indulging in “dramabazi” (theatrics). Speaking at the BJP’s Bhabanipur election office, Adhikari said such actions would not influence the final outcome. “She may continue these antics for a couple of days, but the verdict will not change,” he added.