The BJP has announced its star campaigners for the West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026, submitting a powerhouse list of 40 leaders to the Election Commission.
The list includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, party president Nitin Nabin, veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty, tennis legend Leander Paes, and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, as the party steps up its challenge against the ruling Trinamool Congress.
The list also features several Union ministers, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Health Minister JP Nadda, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Annapurna Devi, and Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav.
Among the chief ministers included are Assam’s Himanta Biswa Sarma, Uttar Pradesh’s Yogi Adityanath, Delhi’s Rekha Gupta, Maharashtra’s Devendra Fadnavis, Odisha’s Mohan Charan Majhi, and Tripura’s Manik Saha.
The list further includes actors and public figures such as veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty, tennis legend Leander Paes, veteran actor Hema Malini, and acto Kangana Ranaut.
Senior BJP leaders, state leaders, and MPs named in the list include Smriti Irani, Arjun Munda, Anurag Thakur, Babulal Marandi, Samrat Choudhary, Manoj Tiwari, Sunil Bansal, Biplab Kumar Deb, Mangal Pandey, Amit Malviya, Samik Bhattacharya, Suvendu Adhikari, Dilip Ghosh, Sukanta Majumdar, Shantanu Thakur, Raju Bista, Jayanta Kr. Roy, Manoj Tigga, and Bijan Goswami.
Notably, the BJP has fielded Ratna Debnath, mother of the RG Kar Medical College rape and murder victim, from the Panihati constituency. The RG Kar incident, which shook Bengal and the nation, involved a 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor found raped and murdered on 9 August 2024. It sparked widespread protests by citizens, medical students, and staff, raising serious questions about the state’s law and order, doctors’ safety (especially for women), and the administration’s failure to provide a secure working environment.
The West Bengal Legislative Assembly elections will be held in two phases, scheduled for April 23 and April 29. The counting of votes for both phases will take place on May 4.
| Phase | Date |
|---|---|
| Phase I | April 23, 2026 |
| Phase II | April 29, 2026 |
| Result Declaration | May 4, 2026 |
The electoral contest in the state has evolved into a high-stakes, bipolar battle between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the TMC aims to return to power for a fourth consecutive term.
The BJP, which emerged as the principal opposition party following the 2021 Assembly elections, is led in the state by Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and State President Sukanta Majumdar.
One of the most closely watched contests is in the Bhabanipur constituency, where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee faces a direct challenge from Suvendu Adhikari, formerly her ally, but now a political rival.
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