It’s Mamata vs. Suvendu again; Trinamool to contest 291 seats in Bengal polls
The Hindu
TMC to contest 291 seats in Bengal polls, confident of winning over 226, announces Mamata Banerjee amid fierce competition.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will fight her former confidante turned bitter rival, the BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari, from the Bhabanipur seat in Kolkata in the 2026 Assembly elections.
The ruling Trinamool Congress on Tuesday (March 17, 2026) announced its list of candidates for the elections, with Ms. Banerjee declaring that the party will contest 291 of the 294 seats in the State.
Asked about the challenge Mr. Adhikari’s candidature will pose, Ms. Banerjee said, “We will win with the maximum number of votes from Bhabanipur.”
Addressing a press conference in Kolkata, Ms. Banerjee said the remaining three seats in the Darjeeling hills will be contested by Anit Thapa-led Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM).
"We will contest 291 of the 294 seats. The remaining three seats will be contested by our ally, Anit Thapa-led BGPM, in the Darjeeling hills," Ms. Banerjee said, while announcing the names of candidates, flanked by the party's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and state president Subrata Bakshi.
Ms. Banerjee expressed confidence that the TMC would retain power with a comfortable majority in the 2026 Assembly elections.
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