Women voted more than men in most Bengal seats. BJP won many of them
A constituency-level analysis by India Today's Data Intelligence Unit found that women recorded a higher turnout percentage than men in 232 seats.
Women voters turned out in larger numbers than men across most of West Bengal in the 2026 Assembly election. The voting pattern has raised questions about whether it played a role in the Trinamool Congress’s major defeat at the hands of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
According to Election Commission of India data, polling in Bengal rose sharply from 81.6 per cent in the 2021 Assembly election to 93.7 per cent in 2026. Male turnout increased by 10.7 percentage points, and female turnout by around 12.
A constituency-level analysis by India Today’s Data Intelligence Unit found that women recorded a higher turnout percentage than men in 232 of the state’s 293 Assembly constituencies analysed. Men voted at a higher rate in just 61 seats. One constituency, Falta, will go for re-polling on May 21.
What’s notable, however, is that male electors outnumbered female electors in most constituencies. Out of 293 seats, 257 had more male electors in absolute numbers, while only 36 seats had more female electors. Yet, of those 257 constituencies, women turned out at higher rates in 215!
BJP STRONG IN HIGH FEMALE-TURNOUT SEATS
The BJP’s victory cut across almost every turnout category. The party won 207 seats, a massive jump from 77 seats in 2021. The BJP’s strike rate increased steadily across constituencies with larger female turnout. The TMC, which won 215 seats in 2021, was reduced to 80 seats this time.
The BJP remained dominant in constituencies where women voted much more than men. The party won 74 of the 99 seats where women’s turnout exceeded men’s turnout by one to three percentage points.
Of the 45 seats where women's turnout was three to six points higher, the BJP won 36. In the 15 seats where women voted at rates more than six percentage points higher than men, the party won 12.
Several constituencies with the biggest female turnout gaps either remained with the BJP or shifted in its favour. Kandi recorded the largest female turnout advantage in the state, at 18.7 percentage points, and flipped from the TMC to the BJP.
Khargram, where women’s turnout exceeded men’s by 12.7 percentage points, also shifted to the BJP. Burwan, which recorded a female turnout advantage of 12.4 percentage points, also swung to the BJP. Overall, six seats with a female turnout gap of more than six percentage points flipped from the TMC to the BJP.
The 2026 election results show that higher women turnout, once seen as an advantage for the TMC in Bengal, no longer guarantees electoral success for the party.