The Indian National Congress has announced candidates for all 294 seats for the West Bengal Assembly elections 2026, confirming its decision to contest the polls independently.
The party on Wednesday released its final list of candidates for the remaining 10 constituencies, including Alipurduar, Islampur, Gazole, Farakka, Sagardighi, Beldanga, Baduria, Ashoknagar, Srirampur and Patashpur. Earlier, on March 29, it had declared candidates for 284 seats. With the latest announcement, the party has finalised nominees across all constituencies.
The final list does not include any prominent or widely recognised faces, with the party largely fielding local and regional leaders.
The Congress has ended its previous alliance with the Left Front for this election. From the 2016 Assembly elections to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the two parties had contested together. For the 2026 Assembly polls, the Congress has decided to enter the contest independently.
In the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, both the Congress and the Left Front failed to secure any seats. The party now faces the challenge of regaining its electoral presence in the state. The decision to contest alone indicates an attempt by the Congress to establish an independent political position.
The West Bengal Assembly elections will be conducted in two phases. The first phase is scheduled for April 23, covering 152 constituencies. The second phase will be held on April 29 for the remaining 142 seats, as per the schedule announced by the Election Commission.
The electoral contest in the state is expected to involve four principal parties: the Trinamool Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Left Front, and the Congress.
Smaller and regional parties may influence outcomes in certain constituencies. In minority-dominated areas, the alliance between AIMIM and Humayun Kabir’s Aam Aadmi Unnayan Party (AAUP) may affect vote distribution, potentially impacting larger parties.
Amid these developments, Mamata Banerjee has criticised the Congress, alleging that it did not support the Trinamool Congress’s protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list. She stated that the Congress did not respond to the issue at either the state or national level.
