In the 2026 assembly elections, it was unclear which treasure the ladies of West Bengal would trust: "Lakshmi" or "Annapurna." The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) defeated the reigning Trinamool Congress (TMC) and achieved a historic victory on Monday, providing the much-anticipated response.
The Trinamool dropped to 80 seats from 215 in the 2021 assembly elections, while the BJP gained 207 of the state's 294 seats, up from 77.
The findings also reveal that the BJP, which is expected to establish the state's government for the first time, shocked everyone by winning a sizable share of the female vote. Women's turnout this year was at 93%, which is two percent higher than men's.

Nearly half of Bengal's voters are women, and they have traditionally been seen as a powerful force behind the Mamata Banerjee-led party, which held power in 2011.
The "Lakshmir Bhandar" Scheme of the Trinamool
In the previous elections, the Trinamool claimed that its programs, such as "Kanyashree," "Rupashree," and "Lakshmir Bhandar," empowered women in social, economic, and political spheres.
The party gained from portraying Mamata Banerjee as the "daughter of Bengal" during the 2021 election campaign. According to polling data, the BJP garnered 35% of women's votes in 2021, while the TMC received almost 50%.After winning that election, Trinamool introduced the "Lakshmi Bhandar" program to further solidify its base of female voters.

Women from the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe populations receive Rs 1,200 per month under the system, while women from the general category receive Rs 1,000.
In both the 2023 local and 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the women's vote continued to support the Trinamool.
The Mamata Banerjee-led government then raised the monthly financial aid under the "Lakshmir Bhandar" plan to Rs 1,500 for the general category and Rs 1,700 for those in the reserved bloc prior to the 2026 elections.

The "Annapurna" scheme of the BJP
The BJP pledged to introduce "Annapurna Bhandar" if they win power in order to counter Mamata Banerjee's well publicised "Lakshmir Bhandar" project. They promised each woman a monthly subsidy of Rs 3,000 under the initiative, which is reported to have significantly increased the number of women who vote for the TMC.
Additionally, the party unveiled safety-related initiatives and welfare pledges aimed solely at women.
It pledged a 33% reserve for women in all government positions, including the police, and free transportation for women on all state-run buses.The 2024 unrest in Sandeshkhali, where a number of women accused local Trinamool strongmen of intimidation and sexual abuse, as well as the rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital—an incident that sparked outrage throughout the state and brought thousands of women to the streets—also led the BJP to target the Mamata government.
The BJP announced a distinct self-defence training unit, a women's support desk at every police station, and a women-only "Durga Surokha Squad" for patrolling in order to ensure the protection of women.

Additionally, it provided a welfare package that included six nutrition kits and Rs 21,000 for pregnant women from low-income families, Rs 50,000 for girls enrolled in graduation programs, free HPV vaccination for women under 40, and free breast cancer screening for women over 40 who were economically disadvantaged.
Additionally, the establishment of 75 lakh "Lakhpati Didis," efforts to discourage child marriage, increased honoraria for Anganwadi, ASHA, and animal welfare workers, and working women's hostels in every district were promised.
Sandeshkhali protests and tickets to the mother of the RG Kar rape-murder victim
The BJP fielded Rekha Patra, the spokesperson for the Sandeshkhali protests, and Ratna Debnath, the mother of RG Kar, the rape-murder victim, in an effort to appeal to female voters.Tirthankar Ghosh, a member of the Trinamool Congress and the son of sitting MLA Nirmal Ghosh, was defeated by Debnath in the Panihati assembly segment. Ghosh was accused of trying in vain to quickly cremate the body of the RG Kar doctor.
She had been bringing up the issue of women's safety and security in the state during her campaign rallies, emphasising her dedication to making sure that no woman is subjected to horrors in the future.
Rekha Patra, a Sandeshkhali housewife who was allegedly tortured by detained TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh, defeated TMC candidate Ananda Sarkar in the Basirhat seat.
Voters are also thought to have supported the BJP due to accusations of corruption, misgovernance, "cut money," "syndicate raj," and administrative failure against the Trinamool government.