"Election A Fight For Mamata Banerjee's Honour": Trinamool MP To NDTV

The 2026 Bengal Assembly election is a "fight for Mamata Banerjee's honour", Trinamool Lok Sabha MP Saayoni Ghosh - whose party is locked in a fierce contest with the BJP - told NDTV, ahead of the final round of voting on Wednesday.

Ghosh also predicted a return of 100+ seats after the first round of polling, which took place on April 23 for 152 constituencies and included perceived strongholds like Murshidabad, East and West Midnapore, Purulia, Bankura, Jhargram, and Birbhum.

"It will go beyond 100… the feedback is very good," she said when NDTV asked for her opinion of how voting unfolded. "The people are coming to support… this is a fight for Bengal's and Mamata Banerjee's honour. We will win… Bengal will win."

On a question about more women voting than men in the first phase, she said: "That is always done by the women in Bengal. They do it for Saayoni Ghosh."

Data from the first phase showed women voting percentage was two per cent more than men, which could be seen as a good sign for the ruling Trinamool. Led by the redoubtable Mamata Banerjee, the party has traditionally relied on women voters to push it over the edge in polls.

Phase 1 also saw a record 93 per cent voter turnout, a figure mired in controversy after the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls dropped 90.8 lakh names.

NDTV Explains | Decoding The Record-Breaking Bengal Voting Figures

That meant the overall voter base shrank to around 6.75 crore, prompting heated debates over how the changed baseline might have skewed voting percentages.

The BJP has pointed to the large number to claim that it represents anti-incumbency against Mamata Banerjee, while her government and she have claimed it is the people's expression of anger against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party over the contentious SIR exercise.

"We don't care what the BJP says… we are not afraid of anti-incumbency," Ghosh said when asked about the 'vote for change' line. Throwing a jibe at the BJP-led centre over fears of fuel price hikes (due to the Iran war squeezing global energy supplies), she said: "I have said this before. Their boat can't go beyond 200 (seats). But petrol and diesel can go beyond 200."

"I want to say to the BJP, 'stay (here) for 365 days. We will make a home for you… but you will not win Bengal," she signed off.

The second phase will see polling for 142 seats. The results will be declared May 4.