West Bengal politics has taken a major political turn ahead of the 2026 assembly elections. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has created a stir within the organization by cutting the tickets of 74 sitting MLAs from its candidate list. While reports of discontent within the party are emerging following this decision, the BJP has made its strategy clear: “No entry now.”
BJP candidate from Kharagpur Sadar constituency, Dilip Ghosh, reacted sharply to the TMC’s decision, saying that his TMC MLAs and ministers have received so much cut money that they have become accustomed to it. They have received so many privileges that they will be upset if their tickets are cut. 74 MLAs have been denied tickets, everyone is angry, and half are approaching the BJP for tickets.
His statement comes at a time when internal dissatisfaction over ticket distribution and discussions of potential defections have intensified in Bengal politics. Political analysts believe that the TMC’s electoral strategy may be part of this large-scale ticket cancellation, aimed at mitigating anti-incumbency and giving opportunities to new faces.
Dilip Ghosh also gave clear indications of the BJP’s new strategy. He said, “Last time, we made a mistake; we probably gave tickets to losers, and we suffered losses because of it. This time, the BJP is not admitting anyone.” This statement is being seen as a reflection of the BJP’s internal “filter mechanism.” After failing to perform as expected in the 2021 elections, the party appears to be more cautious in candidate selection. The BJP’s focus is now on candidates with organizational strength and grassroots capabilities.
In this reshuffle, the party retained 135 of its 209 sitting MLAs, cutting the tickets of 74, and changing the seats of 15 leaders. Several big names were left out of the list, including leaders like Partha Chatterjee (Behala West), Vivek Gupta (Jorasanko), Paresh Pal (Behala), Asit Majumdar (Chinsura), actor Chiranjeet (Barasat), Kanchan Malik (Uttarpara), Mukutmani Adhikari (Ranaghat South) and Jeevan Krishna Saha (Bardhaman). Besides, four ministers Tajmul Hussain, Biplab Roy Chowdhury, Jyotsna Mandi and Manoj Tiwari also did not make it to the candidate list, giving the BF indications of a major political realignment within the party. The possibility of growing discontent within the TMC cannot be ruled out after the denial of tickets to 74 MLAs. Ticket distribution has always been a sensitive issue in Bengal politics and has often led to defections. The BJP claims that many disgruntled leaders are contacting them, but the party currently wants to give a message of organisational discipline by adopting a ‘no entry’ policy. This strategy is seen as an attempt to distance the BJP from the politics of defection and move towards ‘organisation-based elections’.