West Bengal election results: CPI(M), once in power for 34 years, leads in just one seat

As the counting of votes for the West Bengal Assembly elections continues, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is on track to form its first-ever government in the state, signaling the end of the Trinamool Congress's hopes for a fourth consecutive term.

The latest trends show the BJP leading in 171 seats, while Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress is ahead in just 83 seats, far from the majority mark needed to retain power.

The trends also reveal the steep decline of of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which ruled West Bengal for 35 years until Mamata Banerjee ousted them in 2011. The party is leading in just one seat—Domkal. Here, CPI(M) candidate Mostafijur Rahaman is ahead by nearly 8,000 votes over his nearest rival, Humayun Kabir of the Trinamool Congress.

BJP candidate Nandadulal Pal and Aam Janata Unnayan Party's Md. Mosharaf Hossain are also contesting in Domkal. The CPI(M) had fielded candidates in 194 seats across the state this time.

The CPI(M)’s decline in the state is stark compared to its performance in past elections. In 2016, the party won 26 of the 148 seats it contested. In 2011, when the Trinamool Congress overthrew the Left Front, the CPI(M) won 40 seats out of the 213 it contested. 

However, in the 2021 elections, the CPI(M) failed to secure any seat despite contesting 138 constituencies.

The party's near-collapse marks the end of an era for the Left Front in West Bengal, which ruled the state for over three decades and was once a political force to reckon with.