West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026 | Poll Vault: Roll dice, play elections

Khela Habe (game is on) was the ruling Trinamool Congress’s war cry in 2021, when it had thwarted the Bharatiya Janata Party’s bid to win West Bengal. Five years later, as it seeks to hold its fort against the saffron onslaught, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s party has unveiled a new game—quite literally. The TMC turned “Snakes and Ladders” into its campaign tool for door-to-door distribution.

The board game, customised for polls, has the state government’s welfare schemes as ladders – the first one is Banglar Bari housing scheme and the longest one Lakshmir Bhandar scheme to provide monthly financial assistance to women.

It also has faces of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and the state BJP leaders as snakeheads, ready to send players tumbling down the board. The end grid is ‘Joy Bangla’ (Hail Bengal) – the TMC’s signature slogan.