As West Bengal prepares to vote in two phases, all eyes have turned to the Bhabanipur assembly constituency, which will witness a high voltage clash between incumbent Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari.
This is the second straight time when Adhikari will contest against Banerjee. Previously, he had narrowly defeated the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo in the 2021 West Bengal elections from the Nandigram constituency. Considering his past record, the BJP leadership has once again decide to field Adhikari against Banerjee.
Bhabanipur, a bastion of Banerjee
The Bhabanipur assembly constituency, which is a part of the Kolkata Dakshin district and comes under the Kolkata Dakshin Lok Sabha seat, is stronghold of Banerjee, who has been a three-time MLA from here. Banerjee had first won this seat during a byelection in 2011, defeating Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Nandini Mukherjee by more than 50,000 votes.
She retained her seat in the 2016 West Bengal elections, defeating Congress candidate Deepa Dasmunshi by over 25,000 votes. However, Banerjee didn't contest the 2021 polls from Bhabanipur after Adhikari challenged him to fight from the Nandigram seat, which she lost. Although she lost, her party decisively won the elections after which she contested a by-poll from Bhabanipur again to remain the chief minister and become a member of the Legislative Assembly.
Banerjee defeated BJP's Priyanka Tibrewal in a one-sided contest in the 2021 Bhabanipur by-poll, winning by nearly 60,000 votes.
The 2026 challenge for Banerjee
After Adhikari's success against Banerjee from Nandigram in 2021, the BJP has once again fielded him from Bhabanipur this year. Though it should be mentioned that Adhikari will contest from two seats: Nandigram and Bhabanipur. Both the leaders have vowed to defeat each other and have been campaigning intensively in the constituency, while also making severe accusations against each other.
Therefore, it would be interesting to see if Banerjee retains her seat or will Adhikari spring a surprise. Meanwhile, the chief minister will also face a contest from Congress candidate Pradeep Prasad, CPI(M) leader Shrijeeb Biswas, and Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP)'s Punam Begum.
The polling in Bhabanipur will be held in the second phase on April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 4.
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