Short of a majority, still in power
What happened
Communist Party of India (Marxist) held on to power for another term, even though it fell just short of a majority on its own.
The CPM won 143 of the 294 seats on offer.
It governed instead through the Left Front alliance, which cleared that mark with 196 seats.
That extended its own run in office to 6 elections in a row.
What changed
This was also the election where a new opposition party broke through, reshaping who the government's main rival was.
The All India Trinamool Congress entered the assembly for the first time and finished second, with 60 seats.
Its vote share — the slice of all ballots cast that went to one party or candidate — was 30.7%, not far behind CPM's own 36.6%.
Notable numbers
A few numbers from that election stand out.
The closest race of the night was at Baruipur, West Bengal, decided by a margin — how far ahead the winner finished, in votes, over whoever came second — of just 5 votes.
At the other end, Keshpur, West Bengal was won comfortably, by a margin of 81.3% of the vote.
Turnout — the share of registered voters who actually cast a ballot — ranged widely: Sabang, West Bengal recorded 90.5%, while Bara Bazar, West Bengal saw only 32.4%.
The most crowded contest was at Bhatpara, West Bengal, where 16 candidates stood for one seat.
The backdrop
The same party had governed West Bengal continuously since 1977.
The Left Front, a coalition led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), won the 1977 West Bengal assembly election with 231 of 294 seats. Jyoti Basu was sworn in as Chief Minister on 21 June 1977, beginning a Left Front government that continued through seven consecutive assembly elections until 2011.