United News of Bangladesh

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress Supremo Mamata Banerjee suffered a high-profile defeat in the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency, losing to Suvendu Adhikari of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by 15,114 votes. The TMC supremo had built a commanding early lead, but it steadily narrowed as counting progressed. By the end of the seventh round, Mamata was ahead by over 17,000 votes, polling 32,822 against Adhikari’s 15,451. However, the gap began shrinking thereafter and eventually she lost to Suvendu. The BJP has registered a historic win in West Bengal as it appears all set to bag over 200 seats in the state. Notably, this is the second time when Adhikari has defeated Banerjee in Assembly polls. During the 2021 polls, Banerjee suffered a humiliating defeat against Adhikari by close to 2,000 votes from Nandigram. Voting for the 2026 Assembly elections in West Bengal was held across two phases on April 23 and April 29. 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.