WB election 2026: BJP’s Subrata Thakur wins Gaighata with 1,03,192 votes over TMC’s Narottam Biswas

The Bharatiya Janata Party has retained the Gaighata Assembly seat, with candidate Subrata Thakur emerging victorious after securing 1,03,192 votes. Thakur defeated Trinamool Congress nominee Narottam Biswas in the contest.

Thakur had earlier expressed confidence of a strong performance for his party in the state, predicting that the BJP would cross 180 seats. He credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and described the expected outcome as part of a “double-engine” governance model.

“With Prime Minister Narendra Modi guiding us from Delhi, we will form a double-engine government. In past elections, there were strong-arm tactics. This year the EC ensured free and fair polls. People have voted for 'poriborton',” he said.

Polling in Gaighata

Voting for the Gaighata Assembly constituency in North 24 Parganas district took place on April 23, as part of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections. The results for the seat will be announced on 4 May 2026, when counting is scheduled across the state’s 294 constituencies.

Main contenders in 2026

Once dominated by the Congress and the Left, Gaighata has in recent years transformed into a direct battleground between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Election Commission has confirmed 11 candidates in the fray for this Scheduled Caste-reserved constituency.

The full list of contestants for the Gaighata Assembly constituency is:

• Narottam Biswas (TMC)
• Subrata Thakur (BJP)
• Anil Kumar Pandey (INC)
• Sabyasachi Biswas (BSP)
• Sajal Biswas (CPI)
• Shibani Majumdar (SUCIC)
• Sudhir Mondal (IND)
• Shiddhartha Samadder (IND)
• Tapan Biswas (IND)
• Chandan Roy (IND)
• Subrata Adhikary (IND)

Previous election results

Gaighata delivered a decisive victory to the BJP in the 2021 Assembly elections, when Subrata Thakur won the seat with 1,00,808 votes, accounting for roughly 47.3% of the total vote share. He defeated TMC candidate Narottam Biswas, who secured 91,230 votes, with the margin standing at 9,578 votes. That year, the constituency had 2,52,053 registered electors, and 2,13,243 valid votes were cast.

In 2016, the seat was won by the TMC’s Pulin Bihari Ray, who received 93,812 votes. CPI candidate Kapil Krishna Thakur finished second with 64,240 votes, trailing by 29,572 votes.

Earlier in 2011, the TMC’s Manjul Krishna Thakur emerged victorious with 91,487 votes, defeating CPI contender Manoj Kanti Biswas, who polled 66,040 votes. A total of eight candidates contested the Gaighata seat in 2021, including representatives from the TMC, BJP, BSP, CPI, SUCOIC and several independents.

Constituency profile

Gaighata is a Scheduled Caste-reserved seat situated in the Bangaon subdivision of North 24 Parganas, within the South East Bengal region. It has seen a significant political transition, moving from a Congress–Left battleground to a two-way contest between the TMC and BJP. According to Census 2011 data, the constituency records a Scheduled Caste population of 41.99 per cent and a Scheduled Tribe population of 2.12 per cent. The total electorate stands at 2,22,723, including 1,13,921 men and 1,08,799 women. The literacy rate is 84.95 per cent.

Exit poll trends

The 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections were conducted across two phases amid one of the heaviest security deployments the state has seen. As counting gets under way today, early exit polls released earlier this week point to a closely fought contest between the Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

A combined “poll of polls” suggests the two main rivals are running almost level, with each projected to win roughly 145 seats, while smaller parties are expected to claim up to four seats. Individual surveys, however, offer differing pictures. Chanakya Strategies’ projection gives the BJP a slight advantage, estimating 150 to 160 seats for the party and 130 to 140 for the TMC. People’s Pulse, by contrast, anticipates a strong showing for the TMC, forecasting between 177 and 187 seats and placing the BJP in the range of 95 to 110. Matrize’s estimates fall between the two, predicting 146 to 161 seats for the BJP and 125 to 140 for the TMC.