The campaign was shaped by disputes over electoral rolls and citizenship, border security and undocumented migration, and broader debates over identity, governance, women's safety, employment, development, and anti-incumbency after 15 years of AITC rule.
SIR and electoral rolls The
Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls became one of the central controversies of the campaign. The SIR removed around 9 million voters from the rolls in West Bengal, representing about 12% of the electorate. Over six million were categorized as absentee or deceased, while the status of 2.7 million remained pending before tribunals.
Dalit Hindus, especially from the
Matua community, were affected in certain districts. In February 2026, the Supreme court told the Calcutta high court to appoint judicial officers for helping west bengal in carrying out the SIR exercise. It was decided to engage 150 judges from district session courts in the exercise. The deletion of names from the rolls and the subsequent adjudication process became major political issues during the election period. The AITC said that the exercise risked disenfranchising genuine voters, while the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) defended it as a revision of bogus entries and illegal migrants. The issue remained under judicial scrutiny during the campaign.
Citizenship Amendment Act The
Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) remained a separate campaign issue, particularly in areas where refugee and Matua politics were significant. The Union government published details of the act's implementation in the
Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024, in March 2024, and BJP leaders said that a BJP government in West Bengal would speed up citizenship processing under the Act. The AITC argued that the issue was being used to polarise the electorate and that the overlap between CAA, SIR and citizenship rhetoric had increased anxiety among minorities and some migrant communities.
Border security and migration Border security and undocumented migration were also major issues in the campaign. BJP leaders framed cross-border movement, border fencing and the
Siliguri Corridor as matters of national security and linked them to their wider argument on infiltration. The AITC rejected these claims as politically motivated and linked them to communal polarisation.
Identity politics Identity politics remained significant in the campaign. Bengali
asmita (identity), the Matua vote, and questions of language, belonging and representation were prominent themes in several regions of the state.
Corruption Corruption and governance remained important opposition themes, especially because of the
school recruitment scam and other ongoing investigations by central agencies. These allegations formed a major opposition line of attack on the AITC government's record in administration, public recruitment and institutional credibility. The AITC, by contrast, emphasised welfare delivery, continuity and its development record.
Economy and employment Employment, industrial development and public recruitment were also prominent issues, particularly among younger and urban voters. Concerns about job creation, delayed recruitment examinations, the effects of the recruitment scandal, and competing claims over investment and industrial growth featured prominently in the campaign. The BJP foregrounded jobs and industrial revival in its criticism of the state government, while the AITC campaigned on welfare schemes and promised continued investment and infrastructure expansion.
Anti-incumbency Anti-incumbency after 15 years of AITC rule was also noted as a factor in the contest, although it overlapped with disputes over SIR, identity and citizenship. Dissatisfaction over jobs, corruption, governance and law and order was often discussed alongside these issues rather than separately. == Schedule ==