How West Bengal has voted in Lok Sabha Elections after 1990
West Bengal, the state where Modi’s BJP is rallying hard for 2019 Lok Sabha Election, has a completely different story all together from 1991.
New Delhi: West Bengal, the state where PM Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is rallying hard for 2019 Lok Sabha Election, has a completely different story to tell in all the elections that the state witnessed from 1991. The state of West Bengal has the third highest parliamentary seats - 42 and has been a witness to revolutions, CPM’s downfall to the emergence of Mamata Banerjee’s TMC.
Let's look at the election timeline of West Bengal from 1990 to 2014:
Year of election 1991
With the full dominance of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) in West Bengal during the 90s. CPM, CPI, RSP, AIFB, the Left Front vote in West Bengal fought together. CPM got the maximum number of seats i.e. 27. The vote share of CPM was 35.2%. Indian National Congress (INC) landed on the second position with 5 seats and 34.9% votes. Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) got the third highest seats i.e. 4 and 4.5% vote share. Communist Party of India (CPI) and All India Forward Bloc Party (AIFB) got 3 seats each and 3.7, 3.6% vote share respectively.
Year of election 1996
In the 1996 Lok Sabha election, CPI(M) contested 31 seats, RSP 4 seats, CPI 3 seats and AIFB 3 seats, known as the united front back then. CPM got an upper hand as usual with 23 seats and 36.7% votes. INC got the second position with 9 seats but with a higher vote share than CPM, which was 40.1%. RSP got the third highest seats - 4, and 4.8% vote share. CPI and AIFB got 3 seats each and 3.8, 3.4% votes respectively.
Year of election 1998
After being a member of the Congress for two decades, Mamata Banerjee in 1998 formed her own party, Trinamool Congress (TMC) and fought against the United Front. TMC contested the Lok Sabha elections for the first time. CPM won the highest seats i.e. 24 and 35.4% votes share. TMC got 7 seats and 24.4% vote share. RSP ended up with 4 seats and 4.5% votes, CPI could manage to get 3 seats, and 3.6% votes share. AIFB and others both got 2 seats, with 3.3 and 28.8% vote share respectively.
Year of election 1999
TMC formed an alliance with the BJP in the NDA coalition at the Centre in 1999. But still, CPM got 21 seats and 35.6% votes. TMC, after coalition also, couldn’t perform better than the communists and ended up with 2nd highest seats i.e. 8 and 26% voting percentage. INC, RSP, CPI got 3 seats each, and voting percentage of 13.3%, 4.3%, 3.5% respectively. Other parties got 4 seats and 17.3% vote share.
Year of election 2004
Left front's CPM got the highest seats i.e. 26 and 38.6% votes, crushing the TMC. INC got the second position with 6 seats under their belt and 14.6% votes. RSP, CPI, AIFB got 3 seats each and 4.5, 4, 3.7% vote share respectively. TMC got 1 seat and 21.04% vote share.
Year of election 2009
There was a pre-poll alliance in the state between INC and TMC to fight against the Left Front. TMC and INC collectively won (19+6) 25 seats and a vote share of 31.2% and 13.5% respectively. This led to a shameful defeat of the CPM since the past two decades. CPM got 9 seats and 33.1% votes share. RSP, AIFB both got 2 seats and 3.6, 3.1% vote share respectively. IND got 1 seat and 3.1% vote share. Others got 3 seats and 12.5% vote share.
Year of election 2014
After Mamata became the CM of West Bengal in 2011, this was her first Lok Sabha election. TMC fought single-handedly and got 34 seats, TMCs highest ever. Their vote share was 39.8% and emerged as the 4th largest party with 4th highest seats in the Lok Sabha. INC got 4 seats and 9.7% vote share. CPM and BJP got 2 seats each and 23,17% votes share respectively.