The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday released its first list of candidates for the 2026 West Bengal Legislative Assembly elections 2026, announcing nominees for 144 Assembly constituencies across the state and setting up a high-profile contest between senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the Bhawanipur Assembly constituency.
The announcement comes a day after the Election Commission of India declared that the West Bengal Assembly elections will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29.
According to the list released by the party’s central leadership, Adhikari has been nominated from Bhawanipur, the constituency currently represented by Banerjee, setting the stage for a direct face-off between the two political rivals.
Adhikari currently represents the Nandigram Assembly constituency, where he defeated Banerjee in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections in one of the most closely watched contests of that election cycle. Reports suggest that the BJP may field him from both Nandigram and Bhawanipur, allowing him to retain his existing seat while challenging the chief minister in Kolkata.
The candidate list also features several prominent BJP leaders and sitting legislators as the party begins preparations for the polls. Among those named are former state BJP president Dilip Ghosh and party legislator Agnimitra Paul, reflecting the party’s strategy of relying on senior leaders and established faces in key constituencies.
Political observers say the Bhawanipur battle could become the centerpiece of the 2026 election campaign, given the intense rivalry between Banerjee and Adhikari that emerged during the 2021 polls.
With the first list now announced, both the BJP and the ruling All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) are expected to ramp up campaign activities across the state in the coming weeks as the contest for power in West Bengal gathers momentum.
