West Bengal Assembly Election Results 2026 | Wave of anti-incumbency, unpopularity? 22 out of 35 ministers lose

The BJP was elected to power for the first time in West Bengal as the ruling TMC suffered a massive defeat, indicating "deep anti-incumbency and unpopularity".

As many as 22 of the 35 cabinet ministers, including Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, could not hold on to their seat. This amounts to a staggering 63 per cent of the cabinet, indicating a direct rejection of leadership in the eastern state.

Key leaders and minister of in the cabinet were handed defeats as the party could not form the government for the fourth straight term.

"What makes this even more significant is the profile of those who lost. The electorate rejected ministers handling critical portfolios, such as women and child development, industry, housing, power, education, transport and backward classes. This is a sweeping, structural rejection of TMC's governance model by the people of West Bengal," a source told PTI.

Ministers who lost the Assembly elections, include Mamata Banerjee from Bhabanipur; Aroop Biswas (Housing, Power) from Tollygunge; Bratya Basu (Higher Education, School Education) from Dum Dum; Chandrima Bhattacharya (Environment, Finance, Programme Monitoring) from Dum Dum Uttar; Shashi Panja (Industry, Commerce & Enterprises; Women & Child Development and Social Welfare) from Shyampukur; Sujit Bose (Fire and Emergency Services) from Bidhannagar; Indranil Sen (Technical Education, Training & Skill Development; Tourism) from Chandannagar.

Others who lost are: Becharam Manna (Agricultural Marketing) from Singur; Swapan Debnath (Animal Resources Development) from Purbasthali Dakshin; Bulu Chik Baraik (Backward Classes Welfare, Tribal Development) from Mal; Pradip K Mazumdar (Co-operation, Panchayats & Rural Development) from Durgapur Purba; Birbaha Hansda (Forests, Self Help Group & Self Employment) from Binpur; Manas Ranjan Bhunia (Irrigation & Waterways, Water Resources Investigation & Development) from Sabang; Moloy Ghatak (Labour) from Asansol Uttar; Siddiqullah Choudhury (Mass Education Extension and Library Services) from Monteswar.

Addditionally, Udayan Guha (North Bengal Development) from Dinhata; Sandhyarani Tudu (Paschimanchal Unnayan Affairs) from Manbazar; Bankim Chandra Hazra (Sundarban Affairs) from Sagar; Ujjal Biswas (Science & Technology and Bio-Technology) from Krishnanagar Dakshin; Snehasis Chakraborty (Transport) from Jangipara; Srikant Mahato MoS (Consumer Affairs) from Salboni and Satyajit Barman MoS (School Education) from Hemtabad also lost the poll.

It was not just a defeat, most lost by a massive margin of votes. TMC’s minister for Industry Commerce and Enterprises Sashi Panja lost the Shyampukur constituency, to BJP's Purnima Chakraborty by over 14,600 votes.

Former TMC minister Nirmal Majhi lost Goghat seat to BJP’s Prasanta Digar by a huge margin of over 49,500 votes.

North Bengal Development Minister Udayan Guha lost the Dinhata seat by more than 17,400 votes against BJP's Ajay Ray.

Minister and state president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind Siddiqullah Chowdhury, a prominent minority face, lost the Monteswar seat to BJP's Saikat Panja by a huge margin of over 14,700 votes.

Pradip Majumdar, co-operation minister lost the Durgapur Purba seat by a massive 30,900 votes against BJP’s Chandra Sekhar Banerjee.

Senior TMC leader and Environment minister Chandrima Bhattacharya lost the Dum Dum Uttar seat to BJP’s Sourav Sikdar by a margin of over 26,400 votes.

The election has redrawn India's political map as the BJP came to power with 206 seats, converting years of steady rise into a historic victory in what was considered last major eastern bastion that had resisted its expansion for over a decade.

The BJP secured more than a two-thirds majority in the assembly polls, ending the TMC’s 15-year rule, and decisively shifting the state's ideological and political centre of gravity.