The Left Front's rule comes to an end
What happened
All India Trinamool Congress won power in West Bengal in a landslide under Mamata Banerjee, ending 34 years of Left Front government.1
It won 184 of the 294 seats on offer.
That left it 36 seats clear of a majority.
The AITC took 62.6% of the seats on 38.9% of the vote.
The Indian National Congress finished second with 42 seats on 9.1% of the vote.
- 1Trinamool-Led Alliance Ends 34-Year Left Front Rule — 2011 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election
The campaign
Ahead of the 2011 assembly election, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee told a rally in Lichupokhri, Darjeeling, that Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters should stop their movement for a Gorkhaland, calling it something that would never be fulfilled, and urging them to focus on regional development instead.2
Shahabuddin Yaqoob Quraishi, the Chief Election Commissioner, announced that polling for the 294-seat West Bengal Vidhan Sabha would be held in six phases between 18 April and 10 May, with counting on 13 May.3
Trinamool campaigned on the slogan 'Badla noy Badal chai' — we don't want revenge, we want change — for Paribartan, linking it to political violence in Singur, Nandigram and Netai. On 9 May, Mamata Banerjee closed campaigning in Bhattacharjee's own Jadavpur seat, appealing for change.4
- 2Bhattacharjee Rejects Gorkhaland Demand During Hills Campaign Stop — Buddhadeb says no to Gorkhaland, 2011 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election
- 3Election Commission Sets Six-Phase Schedule for WB Assembly Poll — 2011 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election
- 4Trinamool Closes Campaign on 'Paribartan' Slogan in Bhattacharjee's Own Seat — 2011 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election
What changed
Communist Party of India (Marxist) saw its winning streak end in collapse.
It had won 7 elections in a row before this one.
AITC itself grew from 30 seats to 184 seats this time.
Turnout, the share of registered voters who actually cast a ballot, rose +2.8 pp from the previous election — the highest recorded in the state up to that point.
Notable numbers
The closest race was at Mangalkot, West Bengal, decided by a margin — how far ahead the winner finished, in votes, over whoever came second — of 126 votes.
Kalimpong, West Bengal was won by the widest margin of the night, 81.4% of the vote.
Sabang, West Bengal recorded the highest turnout of any seat, at 93.3%.
Chunchura, West Bengal was the largest constituency by registered voters, with 2,63,852 on its rolls.
The most crowded contest was at Jorasanko, West Bengal, where 14 candidates stood.
The backdrop
The Communist Party of India split on 7 November 1964, and the breakaway faction registered separately as the Communist Party of India (Marxist).5
That party led the Left Front to power in West Bengal in 1977, when Jyoti Basu was sworn in as Chief Minister, beginning a run that continued through seven consecutive elections.6
That run ended with AITC's win in 2011.1
- 1Trinamool-Led Alliance Ends 34-Year Left Front Rule — 2011 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election
- 5CPI Splits, CPI(M) Registers as a Separate Party — 1964 split in the Communist Party of India
- 6Left Front Forms First West Bengal Government — 1977 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election