August 8, 2025

KOLKATA: The political drama is getting spicier in West Bengal as both the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) gear up for the 2026 assembly elections! Both parties are locking horns by strengthening their presence right at polling booth level across the state’s districts. Imagine this — there were nearly 80,000 polling booths in Bengal during the 2021 assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha elections. That’s where the real battle begins! On Tuesday, in a virtual hi-tech meet, TMC’s national general secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee addressed a whopping crowd of 9,000 party workers in Kolkata. His message was loud and clear: booth agents and booth committee presidents will be replaced in all polling booths where BJP led by over 100 votes in the last elections. A TMC insider revealed, “Abhishek directed that regular meetings must be held at every booth level in the run-up to the 2026 state elections. He also asked us to identify block-level election officers who might have links to the BJP or CPI(M).” This means TMC is playing detective to keep a sharp eye on every corner! Despite BJP winning only 77 out of 294 assembly seats in 2021 and 12 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats last year, the BJP had a lead over TMC in 25,000 polling booths. That’s a massive number that both parties are keenly focused on. Meanwhile, the Election Commission has shaken things up by suspending two electoral registration officers and others over allegations of adding hundreds of names to electoral rolls without proper checks in Baruipur Purba and Moyna constituencies. Funny enough, TMC won Baruipur Purba in 2021 while BJP took Moyna. On the other side, BJP’s strategy meetings are no less vibrant. Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently met state leaders in Delhi and emphasized forming committees and selecting election agents for every booth within three months. A senior BJP leader admitted on condition of anonymity, “During the 2024 polls, we did not have proper committees for at least 40% polling booths across Bengal, although the district committees were in place.” BJP knows their booth-level game must get tighter. They are also tackling internal challenges like organisational weaknesses and local leader rivalries. To fix this, BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya on Wednesday appointed new district unit presidents for Darjeeling, Barrackpore, Bongaon, and Ghatal after realizing that the earlier nominees were not up to the mark. So, folks, as the 2026 elections draw closer, keep your eyes peeled! Both TMC and BJP are in a feverish race to win hearts at the grassroots level, setting the stage for yet another electoral blockbuster in West Bengal.

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Tags: West bengal, Tmc, Bjp, Assembly elections, Polling booths, 2026 elections,