NEW DELHI – As West Bengal approaches its upcoming elections on April 23 and April 29, a comparative study of the 2016 and 2021 polls reveals a clear trend toward more decisive victory margins.

While nearly 74% of seats in 2016 were decided by mid-range margins, the 2021 election saw "landslide" victories (margins over 25,000) surge to 132 seats, or roughly 44% of the total assembly. The AITC emerged as the primary beneficiary of this shift, securing 118 of these high-margin wins compared to the BJP’s 13.

Election Data Highlights:

• Massive Mandates: Seats like Gosaba and Dinhata saw record victories exceeding 1.6 lakh votes.
• The "Battle of Hundreds": Only seven constituencies were decided by fewer than 1,000 votes in 2021, including Balarampur (423) and Tamluk (793).
• Historical Consistency: Tamluk remains a outlier with a 60-year history of narrow margins, recording just 116 votes in 1977 and 793 in 2021.

With over seven crore voters set to participate, the 2026 polls will determine if this polarization toward decisive wins continues or if the state returns to more tightly contested battles.