A supporter dismantles an election billboard bearing a portrait of Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee after the party failed to secure a majority in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, in Kolkata. (AP Photo)The West Bengal Assembly polls, which are set to give the BJP its first government in the state, have some similarities with the 2011 polls, when Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) first came to power dethroning the Buddhadeb Bhattacharya-led Left regime. However, there are some divergences too.The most obvious similarity is that both elections saw a long stint of a party rule reversed – if the BJP unseated Banerjee after 15 years, the TMC on its part had in 2011 ended 34 years of Left rule in the state. Both verdicts were clear – the BJP crossed 200 seats in Bengal this time, and the TMC and the Congress in alliance had crossed 225 seats in 2011. If the TMC has fallen below 100 this time, the Left Front had fallen below 65 seats in 2011.Also Read | BJP scores ‘poribortan’ in Bengal, Vijay’s smash-hit debut in Tamil Nadu, Congress reclaims KeralaYet another similarity is that governance and law and order were issues at the forefront in both the elections. This time, the R G Kar Hospital rape and murder case was a major issue, and the BJP also fielded the victim’s mother Ratna Debnath from Panihati. Debnath was well-placed to win her election by late evening. Allegations of violence by TMC workers in the Bengal hinterland and corruption charges against TMC ministers were also flying thick and fast before the elections.In 2011, it was police violence against anti-land acquisition protesters in Singur and Nandigram that became a major election issue. The alleged murder of an activist Tapsi Mullick, whose badly burnt body was reportedly recovered near the Tata Nano site at Singur in 2006, was discussed till the next election.Despite these obvious similarities, there are also two crucial differences between the two elections. One, while both Hindu and Muslim votes are believed to have shifted from the CPI(M) to the TMC in 2011, this election seems to be more about Hindu consolidation for the first time in the state.Also Read | From Bengal, there are questions for the TMC and Mamata Banerjee – and the Modi-Shah BJPMuslim votes still seem to have sided with the TMC, but their ability to swing the election in the party’s favour has been significantly dented by a counter-polarisation among Hindu voters. While the TMC had sought to rely on Bengali sub-nationalism, it seems to have been trumped by Hindu nationalism combined with serious anti-incumbency.Another difference is that while the BJP projected no face going into the 2026 Bengal assembly polls, Banerjee was the unequivocal face of the challenge the TMC posed before the CPI(M) in 2011. That election was heavily personality centric while this one has been about parties – the BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah took on the TMC that had Banerjee as its face.Vikas Pathak is deputy associate editor with The Indian Express and writes on national politics. He has over 17 years of experience, and has worked earlier with The Hindustan Times and The Hindu, among other publications. He has covered the national BJP, some key central ministries and Parliament for years, and has covered the 2009 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls and many state assembly polls. He has interviewed many Union ministers and Chief Ministers. Vikas has taught as a full-time faculty member at Asian College of Journalism, Chennai; Symbiosis International University, Pune; Jio Institute, Navi Mumbai; and as a guest professor at Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi. Vikas has authored a book, Contesting Nationalisms: Hinduism, Secularism and Untouchability in Colonial Punjab (Primus, 2018), which has been widely reviewed by top academic journals and leading newspapers. He did his PhD, M Phil and MA from JNU, New Delhi, was Student of the Year (2005-06) at ACJ and gold medalist from University Rajasthan College in Jaipur in graduation. He has been invited to top academic institutions like JNU, St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and IIT Delhi as a guest speaker/panellist. ... Read MoreStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Narendra ModiWest Bengal Assembly Election Result 2026