Bengal Polls 2026: Minority Vote Strategy Takes Centre Stage

• West Bengal parties recalibrate strategies for 2026 Assembly elections, focusing on the crucial minority vote bank.
• Minority voters, accounting for 30% of the electorate, influence over 110 seats, historically decisive for TMC's dominance.
• TMC aims to consolidate support through welfare schemes, representation, and positioning against BJP, fielding many minority candidates.
• Emerging regional players like ISF and AJUP (aligned with AIMIM) target younger minority voters and political assertion, potentially shifting votes.
• BJP focuses on consolidating non-minority voters, highlighting governance issues, and benefiting from potential minority vote fragmentation.