West Bengal Results: BJP vs TMC — who gained, who lost in Muslim-majority Mushidabad, Malda? Data decoded

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) closed in on the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in Muslim-dominated districts of Murshidabad, Malda and Uttar Dinajpur, significantly narrowing the gap in the number of seats won in these areas in the 2026 election as compared to the 2021 polls.

Who won Bengal’s Muslim belt?

The TMC maintained an overall lead over the BJP in the Muslim belt, winning 20 seats against the saffron party's 18 seats. The tally was, however, 15 less than the number of seats it had won in Murshidabad, Malda and Uttar Dinajpur in the 2021 West Bengal polls.

As per the Election Commission's data, the TMC lost 15 of the 35 seats it had won in the last assembly elections.

The BJP's number, meanwhile, significantly improved to 18 from the eight seats it secured in the 2021 polls.

Data analysis of Bengal results in the Muslim belt

There are a total of 43 assembly seats in Murshidabad, Malda, and Uttar Dinajpur districts, where the Muslim population is comparatively high or nearly half of the district's population.

The TMC won 20 of these 43 seats, the BJP won 18, and others won 5.

Here, we analyse the Election Commission's data to dissect how TMC votes in Muslim-majority districts were divided between the BJP, the Congress, the CPI(M) and Humanyun Kabir's Aam Janata Unnayan party in the 2026 West Bengal Elections:

Murshidabad

Murshidabad has 22 assembly constituencies.

What happened in the 2021 elections? The TMC had won 20 of 22 assembly seats in Murshidabad, while the BJP had won only two.

2026 Bengal Results: This time, the TMC's votes in Murshidabad were divided between the BJP, Congress, CPI(M) and Aam Janata Unnayan party.

The TMC won only nine seats in the 2026 polls. Of the remaining 11 seats it won in 2021, six went to the BJP, two each to the Congress and the Aam Janata Unnayan party, and one to the CPI (M). The BJP also retained two seats it had won in 2021, taking its share from two in 2021 to eight in 2026.

Seat-wise results of Murshidabad in 2021 vs 2026:

Malda

Malda has 12 assembly constituencies.

What happened in the 2021 elections? The TMC had won eight seats and the BJP four.

In the 2026 Bengal results, the TMC retained six seats in Malda, while losing two to the BJP. This increased the BJP's tally from four seats in 2021 to six seats in 2026, while slashing the TMC's share from eight seats in 2021 to six seats in 2026.

Seat-wise results of Malda in 2021 vs 2026:

Uttar Dinajpur

Uttar Dinajpur has a total of nine assembly seats.

What happened in the 2021 elections? The TMC had won seven of these nine seats, while the BJP won two.

The 2026 West Bengal elections saw the BJP retain those two seats and wrest two more from the TMC, taking its tally to four and slashing the TMC's tally to five.

BJP surges in Muslim-dominated regions in West Bengal

This analysis revealed that the BJP made significant inroads in the TMC's vote share in the Muslim-dominated districts of Murshidabad, Malda and Uttar Dinajpur.

The TMC lost as many as 10 seats to the BJP in these regions. Here's the full list of seats that TMC won in 2021, but lost to BJP in 2026:

The BJP was successful in building cracks in the TMC's stronghold by increasing its share from eight seats to 18 in these Muslim-majority regions.

Besides the BJP, the Congress, Humanyun Kabir's Aam Janata Unnayan party and CPI(M) also cut into the TMNC's stronghold, especially in Murshidabad.

West Bengal Results 2026

In a nail-biting contest, the BJP won the West Bengal polls for the first time with a thumping majority. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party comfortably crossed the majority mark by winning 207 of the 294 seats in the West Bengal Assembly.

The TMC, which ruled Bengal for 10 years, won 80 seats, the Congress and the Aam Janata Unnayan party (AJUP) won two seats each, while the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the All India Secular Front (AISF) won one seat.