The split in Muslim votes in three minority-dominated districts of Bengal has helped the BJP win 10 additional seats in the 2026 Assembly elections.

The results also revealed an interesting fact.

Murshidabad, a district with over 70 per cent Muslim population with 22 Assembly constituencies, emerged as the sole district in Bengal where five parties secured seats.

In the district, the Trinamool Congress secured nine seats, the BJP eight, the Congress two, the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (Humayan Kabir’s party) two and the CPM one.

“The results of Murshidabad were a setback for the Trinamool Congress this time. In 2021, the party secured 20 seats. The BJP had then bagged the remaining two seats. Trinamool had been banking on this district this time too, along with Malda and North Dinajpur, which have around 50 per cent Muslim population, to tide over the polls,” said a political observer.

“However, Murshidabad votes got split and went to five parties, reducing Trinamool’s tally considerably.”

Altogether, there are 43 Assembly seats in these three districts. In 2021, Trinamool had won 35 seats while the BJP could win the remaining eight seats.

This time, the BJP won 18 of the 43 seats. Trinamool could win 20 seats from these three districts. The remaining five seats have gone to the Congress, the AJUP and the CPM.

“This time, on one hand, there was a consolidation among Hindu voters, while there was a split in the Muslim vote bank. This has led to such results,” the BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari, who won from Nandigram and Bhabanipur, said.

That Adhikari’s observation was apt became evident in Murshidabad, claimed Subrata Maitra, the BJP candidate who has won from the Behrampore seat.

“People have voted against corruption because they wanted a change in the state. The results show that many Muslims have also voted for us, as they too wanted to oust Trinamool from power,” a jubilant Maitra claimed.

Similarly, BJP managed to win two additional seats — Baishnabnagar and Manikchak — in Malda, where its tally increased to six.

“In Baishnabnagar, the Congress bagged a portion of the Muslim votes, while in Manikchak, both the Congress and the CPM could draw some votes of the minority community, thus paving the way for the BJP’s win. Some recent incidents of violence led to the consolidation of Hindu votes in these districts, which helped the BJP,” said
an observer.

An equally surprising scene was witnessed at the Karandighi Assembly seat of North Dinajpur. Known to be a Muslim-dominated area, the split of Muslim votes between the CPM and Trinamool made Biraj Biswas, the BJP candidate, win from the seat.

Additional reporting by our Raiganj and Malda correspondents